Buddhist Pantheon

THE BUDDHIST PANTHEON1
Hou Xudong
The expression “A Maitreya in every home, a Guanyin for every house-

hold” is often invoked to describe Buddhist devotion in China. But the
expression describes the product of gradual change over hundreds of
years, rather than devotion in the earliest period of Chinese Buddhism.
To understand the paths of development in Buddhist devotion over the
course of Chinese history, analysis is required. To this end, we must
return to the period when Buddhism first entered China, correspond-
ing politically to the Three Kingdoms, Western and Eastern Jin, and
the Northern and Southern dynasties.
This period, also known as the Six Dynasties (220–589), was the
first peak of development in the history of Chinese Buddhism. This
was especially the case after the Eastern Jin and the Sixteen King-
doms (317–420), when Buddhism in various localities broke through
the limited confines of communities of foreigners and began to win
converts among a broad group of Han Chinese, henceforth rapidly
entering a new period of development.2 This development took place
in the translation of scripture and the investigation of doctrine. It was
also reflected in the steady rise and spread of communities of lay devo-
tees, and religious activities like the erection of monasteries, creation
of images, copying of scriptures, and fasting assemblies. It was these
devotional activities that formed the foundation for Buddhism during
the Six Dynasties period.
Buddhist devotion during the Six Dynasties has in recent years
attracted much scholarly attention, with new types of research con-
tinuously appearing.3 This research is for the most part founded on a
1
Translated by John Kieschnick. I wish here to thank Françoise Wang-Toutain,
Stephen F. Teiser, John Kieschnick, and Li Yuqun for their comments on an earlier
draft of this paper.
2
See Arthur F. Wright, “Buddhism and Chinese culture: phases of interaction,” in
Robert M. Somers, ed., Studies in Chinese Buddhism (New Haven, 1990), pp. 10–20.
3
For instance Liu Changdong, Jin Tang Mituo jingtu xinyang yanjiu (Chengdu,
2000); Fu Nanzi, “Zhonggu Yaoshi xinyang,” MA Thesis (Xuanzang renwen shehui
xueyuan, 2000); Chün-Fang Yü, Kuan-yin: the Chinese transformation of Avalokitesvara
1096 hou xudong
particular type of Buddhist belief, such as the cult to Maitreya,

Amitābha, Guanyin, Dizang, and the Medicine King. The starting point
for such research is usually accounts about a buddha or bodhisattva in
Buddhist scripture. Since the research is based on Buddhist doctrine,
areas in which the practice of lay devotion transcends the prescriptions
found in Buddhist scripture are frequently overlooked. As a result, this
text-based approach does not reveal a full picture of the actual beliefs of
devotees. For this reason, I here attempt to take the actual beliefs and
practices of Buddhist devotees as my starting point, consulting—but
not relying exclusively on—Buddhist scriptures, to present an overall
picture of devotion to buddhas and bodhisattvas during the Six Dynas-
ties period.
Below I draw chiefly on the following sources:
1. Inscriptions on various types of Buddhist images or steles (here-
after: “image inscriptions” ທቝಖ). Image inscriptions are the product
of the creation of Buddhist images by devotees. According to Buddhist
scriptures, making images is one way for a devotee to earn religious
merit. For this reason, Buddhist devotees—whether as individuals or
as a family, for a monastery or for a community of the faithful known
as a “devotional society” (yiyiʳ߳ᆠ) or “Dharma society” ( fayiʳऄᆠ)—
made Buddhist images in order to garner merit. These donors provided
funds to hire craftsmen to make Buddhist images, or bought them ready
made. The smallest of these images are a few inches tall, the largest more
than a zhang. They were commonly made of stone or of bronze. After
the image was finished or purchased, the donor would usually inscribe a
text of varying length on the base of the image, or on its back, or beside
the niche in which it was carved. The image inscription recounts the
circumstances leading to the creation of the image, including the time
it was made, the vow the donor made when having the image made,
and the name of the donor.
According to the names recorded, participants in these projects
included ordinary people with no official title, monks, nuns, and offi-
cials. Most of these names appear in no other historical sources; these
ordinary devotees are a counterbalance to the emperors, generals, high
officials, and eminent monks who take center stage in the received
(New York, 2000); Wang Qing, Wei Jin Nanbeichao shiqi de fojiao xinyang yu shenhua
(Beijing, 2001). For Dizang, see Zhuang Mingxing, Zhongguo zhonggu de Dizang xin-
yang (Taibei, 1999); Zhang Zong, Dizang xinyang yanjiu (Beijing, 2003); Ng Zhiru, The
making of a saviour bodhisattva: Dizang in medieval China (Honolulu, 2007).
the buddhist pantheon 1097
historical tradition. Image inscriptions were made all over, but were
especially common in the north. From the descriptions of the subjects
of the images in inscriptions by the donors who had them made, we
can catch a glimpse of buddhas and bodhisattvas through the eyes of
the devotees who participated in projects to make Buddhist images in
many regions, in particular in the north. And from this we can con-
jecture as to the beliefs of other Buddhist devotees as well.4
2. Textual sources. Textual sources include biographies that recount
the events in the lives of famous monks, various extant writings by Bud-
dhists composed during the Six Dynasties, including a large number of
miracle tales. These stories encouraged the spread of Buddhism, and at
the same time indirectly disclose the spread of certain types of belief.
3. Buddhist iconography. Iconography includes standing images of
buddhas and bodhisattvas made of various substances in the north and
the south as well as images in cave temples. I only employ this material
as secondary support for my analysis.
4. Buddhist scriptures. Most of the scriptures I draw upon are trans-
lations of Indic texts from the Six Dynasties preserved in the Buddhist
canon, but I also use hand-written manuscripts from the Six Dynas-
ties discovered at Dunhuang. Various types of belief can all be traced
back to Buddhist scriptures, although in actual practice this belief may
diverge from scriptural prescriptions.
Although all of these types of source are valuable, each has its own
limitations. Most image inscriptions are concentrated in the north, and
date from the second half of the 5th century on. We do not have material
for the earlier period and possess very little for the south. The content
of the inscriptions is for the most part quite simple and descriptions
of the beliefs of the devotees are very limited. Iconography expresses
4
See Hou Xudong, Wu, liu shiji beifang minzhong fojiao xinyang (Beijing, 1998) pp.
87–91. It is important to note that image inscriptions survive to the present through
“writing”, and the vast majority of people in the Six Dynasties, including the majority
of Buddhist devotees who participated in the creation of Buddhist images were illiter-
ate. “Written” image inscriptions usually required literate people, perhaps monks or
cultural elites in the local community, to complete the inscriptions. In this process of
writing for someone else, was the original intent of the patron expressed accurately
and completely? This problem influences the value of the information reflected in the
inscriptions. It is a question as difficult to answer as it is important. Here we have no
choice but to assume that the “written” inscription accurately expresses the intentions
of those involved. In addition, the texts of image inscriptions follow a set “format”. Do
texts following a set pattern accurately express the intentions of those involved? For the
“pantheon” discussed in this chapter, the answer to the question should be positive.
1098 hou xudong
style, the preservation of tradition and change, but this has little direct,
active connection with the beliefs of devotees. Textual sources focus on
the activities of eminent monks and literati, and are concentrated in the
south. Hence, if we seek a complete, accurate, and systematic picture
of devotion to buddhas and bodhisattvas by Six Dynasties Buddhist
devotees, we face many difficulties. Here I can only provide a rough
sketch of what should be a much grander painting.
Changes in the perception of the Buddha
Buddhist devotion slowly developed from the focus on Śākyamuni

in early Buddhism to the multitude of buddhas and bodhisattvas in
Mahayana Buddhism. Buddhist scriptures appeared at different times,
pertained to different schools, and expressed different opinions about
various buddhas.
At the latest, by the 3rd century BC, belief in the seven buddhas
had appeared.5 The seven buddhas are: Vipaśyin ੆ധৡ۵, Śikhin ৡ
ඵ۵, Viśvabhū ੆ॐ௬۵, Krakucchanda ࣅఎ୪۵, Kanakamuni ࣅ
߷ܶ‫؍ۋ‬۵, Kāśyapa ૫ᆺ۵, and Śākyamuni ᤩ૫‫؍ۋ‬۵. The legend
of the seven buddhas seems to have been widely shared in the early
period. The first three of the seven buddhas lived during a previous
kalpa, while the last four buddhas lived during the present kalpa. The
last buddha, Śākyamuni, became a buddha after cultivating himself as
a man. In the same way, the six buddhas that preceded him achieved
perfect enlightenment after observing the principle of dependent origi-
nation.6 Other Buddhist scriptures speak of 14 or even 24 buddhas of
the past. As the number of buddhas gradually expanded, the doctrine
of the many buddhas of the past took shape.7
The notion of buddhas of the future is an extension of the belief
in buddhas of the past, with “buddhas of the past and buddhas that
5
See Yinshun, Chuqi dasheng fojiao zhi qiyuan yu kaizhan (Taibei, 1981), p. 153.
6
See Za ahan jingʳ ᠧॳܶᆖʳ (Saṃ yuktāgama) 12, T 99, vol. 2, p. 85. Richard
Gombrich, “The significance of former buddhas in Theravādin tradition,” in Somaratna
Balasooriya et al., eds, Buddhist studies in honour of Walpola Rahula (London, 1980),
pp. 62–72; Gombrich, “Why six former buddhas?” The Journal of Oriental Research
56/62 (1992), 326–30; J.Ph. Vogel, “The past buddhas and Kāśyapa in Indian art and
epigraphy,” Asiatica 65 (1954), 808–16; Jan Nattier, Once upon a future time: studies
in a Buddhist prophecy of decline (Berkeley, 1991), pp. 19–27.
7
Yinshun, Chuqi dasheng fojiao, p. 153.
follow proceeding one after the other.” Mention of Maitreya, the

buddha to come, appears already in the Zengyi ahan jing ᏺԫॳܶᆖ
(Ekottarāgamasūtra).8 After Maitreya, many more buddhas will eventu-
ally appear in the world one after the other.9
There was not much controversy among different schools over the
idea of a multitude of buddhas from the “three times” of past, pres-
ent, and future, but there were different views about the coexistence
of multiple buddhas. Early Buddhists did not believe that all sentient
beings could become buddhas, and they denied that two buddhas could
appear at the same time.10 But the belief that many buddhas coexist in
different “buddha fields”, that is, in different worlds, receives especial
emphasis in Mahayana thought.11 The “buddhas of the ten directions”
appear in other worlds. Their worlds are pure and ornate and filled with
bliss. These buddhas themselves possess special marks, divine powers,
and extraordinary abilities. Their lifespans are immeasurably long, in
marked contrast to the buddhas of our world here in Jambudvīpa.
Buddhas of the past and future are modeled on the “earthly body”
(shengshenʳ‫ )ߪس‬of Śākyamuni, while the current “cosmological” bud-
dhas are modeled on the “reward body” (baoshenʳ໴ߪ) of the Buddha.
The doctrine of the “reward body” takes as its foundation the vari-
ous forms of cultivation that a bodhisattva engages in on the path to
becoming a buddha. As every buddha over the span of innumerable
kalpas has carried out all manner of compassionate acts and developed
methods of self-cultivation, the process of becoming a buddha extends
far beyond the final life of the bodhisattva and is instead the accumu-
lation of practices over many lives. In response to this long period of
cultivation, the existence of a “reward body” was asserted, eventually
8
Zengyi ahan jing 44, T 125, vol. 2, pp. 788–89.
9
Zengyi ahan jing 4, p. 791, states that after Maitreya, the buddhas Shiziying ஃ՗
ᚨ۵, Chengroushun ࢭਫႉ۵, Guangyan ٠ङ۵, Wugou ྤৃ۵, and Baoguang
ᣪ٠۵ will appear in succession.
10
Zhong ahan jing խॳܶᆖʳ (Madhyamāgama) 47 states: “For there to be two
wheel-turning kings in the world at the same time is not possible; for there to be two
thus-come-ones in the world at the same time is not possible.” T 26, vol. 1, pp. 723c–24a.
Chang ahan jing ९ॳܶ伨 (Dīrghāgama) 12 states: “If you want there to be two bud-
dhas in the world at the present time, this is impossible.” T 1, vol. 1, p. 79a.
11
Some non Mahayana texts, while insisting that there cannot be two buddhas in
the same buddha field, allow for the possibility of buddhas in other buddha fields.
See Paul Williams, Mahayana Buddhism: the doctrinal foundations, 2nd ed. (Oxon,
2009), p. 215.
1100 hou xudong
leading to the notion that all apparitions (“response bodies”; yingshenʳ

ᚨߪ) of the buddha can be seen as manifestations created to proclaim
the Dharma.12
Mahayana Buddhism also developed distinctive notions of the
bodhisattva, and employed the vows of bodhisattvas to explain the bud-
dhas of the ten directions. Bodhisattvas practice Mahayana Buddhism
and strive for enlightenment in order to benefit all beings. Practitioners
on the path to buddhahood, many bodhisattvas appear in Mahayana
Buddhism. The appearance of the buddhas of the ten directions testify
to the realization of the bodhisattva ideal of attaining buddhahood.
Akṣobhya, Amitābha, and other such buddhas of the ten directions in
the past made vows to become buddhas, cultivating themselves over
countless kalpas as pioneers for present-day bodhisattvas. The many
buddhas and bodhisattvas, with their divine powers, are capable of
traveling throughout the universe. As their names spread, they inspired
Buddhist disciples to practice. Hence, Mahayana Buddhism in addi-
tion to promoting traditional forms of self-cultivation, placed great
emphasis on relying upon the power of the vows of bodhisattvas to
achieve liberation.
Buddhas and bodhisattvas in the eyes of

devotees in the Six Dynasties
The many buddhas and bodhisattvas that appear in Buddhist scriptures

also played a role in actual devotional activities. The form buddhas and
bodhisattvas worshiped by devotees in the north and south during the
Six Dynasties period took was diverse, and changed with the passage
of time.
The cult to Śākyamuni, with a brief discussion of Prabūtaratna, the

Pensive bodhisattva, and relics
Through cultivation, Śākyamuni was awakened to the meaning of life
and received the veneration of his disciples. But because he entered
12
On the evolution of the doctrine of the buddha, see Takeuchi Shōkō, “Buddakan
no henken,” in Hirakawa Akira, Kajiyama Yuichi, and Takasaki Jikidō, eds, Kōza daijō
bukkyō, daijōkyō to wa nanika? (Tokyo, 1981), pp. 153–70; Williams, Mahayana Bud-
dhism, pp. 172–86; and Guang Xing, The concept of the Buddha: its evolution from early
Buddhism to the Trikāya theory (Oxon, 2005).
nirvana more than a thousand years ago, he is no longer present in

our world and hence belongs to the realm of “buddhas of the past”. The
monastic elite were very familiar with the biography of Śākyamuni, and
often expressed disappointment at having been “born after the time of
the Buddha.” Although they made images of Śākyamuni, their purpose
was usually to express reverence; if they desired to obtain liberation
through the power of a buddha, and hence to seek assistance from a bud-
dha of the present or future age, then they rarely turned to Śākyamuni.13
Ordinary devotees, however, often called on Śākyamuni.
In the north, in the first year of the Xingguang era of the Northern
Wei (454) the court donated funds to forge images of Śākyamuni for
Emperor Taizu and the subsequent four emperors.14 After 460, in the
Yungang caves constructed by the imperial family in the capital at
Pingcheng (present-day Datong, Shanxi), many images of Śākyamuni
were carved as well, in addition to depictions of scenes from the life of
Śākyamuni. Research has shown that this was intended to propagate
worship of Śākyamuni among the Wei subjects.15
Against this background, there was a substantial number of devotees
of Śākyamuni in the north, as is reflected in the proportion of images
of Śākyamuni from the period. From the middle of the 5th century to
the end of the 570s, the creation and worship of Śākyamuni images
in the north was relatively common. Aside from the slightly low pro-
portion for the period from 550 to 569, more than ten percent of the
images made by devotees were images of Śākyamuni. The fact that one
13
In the Eastern Jin period, the eminent monk Zhi Dun ֭ሜ (ca. 314–66) and
Huiyuan ᐝ᎛ (312–85) both made images of Śākyamuni, but their devotion focussed
chiefly on Maitreya. I will return to Zhi Dun’s belief below. Huiyuan in his “Jin Xiang-
yang zhangliu jinxiang zan bing xu” வᝊၺՁք८ቝᢥࠀ‫ݧ‬ʳ describes his feelings
about being unable to see Śākyamuni, saying: “I ever long for the light of the sun. What
seems to be his image fills my breast whether I am awake or asleep. My dark mood held
inside, in despair I mourn for myself, my sorrow has no expression.” Hence he “gives
reverence for a thousand years to this semblance, this image.” See Guang hongming
ji ᐖ‫ࣔؖ‬ႃʳ 15, T 2103, vol. 52, pp. 198b–c. On Huiyuan’s devotion to Maitreya,
see below. For analysis of the “humanity, sense of distance, and sense of the past”
in appreciations of Śākyamuni, see Tsukamoto Zenryū, Shina bukkyōshi hokugi hen
(Tokyo, 1942), pp. 572–77.
In India, the veneration of Śākyamuni’s physical remains appeared very early on; in
China, the practice appeared somewhat later, only becoming important after the 6th
century. For details, see below. At the same time, the concept of the “Dharma body”
also circulated fairly late. For this reason, eminent monks often lamented the “absence
of the Buddha”.
14
Wei Shou, Weishu 114, “Shi Lao zhi” (Beijing, 1974), p. 3036.
15
Tsukamoto, Shina bukkyōshi, pp. 573–74.
1102 hou xudong
in ten of the images made was of Śākyamuni and that the proportion
of images of Śākyamuni did not change appreciably with the exception
of the period mentioned above demonstrates that the level of devotion
to Śākyamuni was relatively stable. From this we can conjecture that in
the north as a whole, from 450 to 579 more than ten percent of cultic
activity was directed towards Śākyamuni.
The creation of images of Śākyamuni by commoners focused on
the period 450–579. During this period, worship of Śākyamuni was
widespread. Before this time, evidence for the worship of Śākyamuni
is more rare. The number of images of Śākyamuni during this period
of over one hundred years fluctuated. At its highest point it was close
to 20 percent; at its lowest, it fell to 2.1 percent. From 550 to 559 the
number of Śākyamuni images was the lowest. At the turn of the 6th
century and the last ten years of the Northern Dynasties, there were
relatively large numbers of commoner devotees involved in the produc-
tion of these images. While we cannot rule out the role of the random
nature of the material, the evidence suggests the instability of the focus
of worship among commoners.
The creation of images of Śākyamuni by officials appears slightly later,
concentrated in the period 470–579. Aside from particular periods in
which the proportion was relatively low, in other periods, the proportion
of images of Śākyamuni was between 10 and 30 percent. Compared to
statistics for commoners, fluctuation in the object of worship was less
extreme: the percentage of images of Śākyamuni among images made
by officials was relatively stable and, overall, was quite high—twice the
percentage of Śākyamuni worship among commoners.
Among monks and nuns, the period in which making images of
Śākyamuni was popular is similar to that of officials. The year 550 was
a watershed. Before this date, Śākyamuni images were popular among
monks and nuns, and after it, there was a dramatic decline, with monks
and nuns making only one-fifth to one-tenth of the number of images
they had made during the peak period. Nonetheless, the percentage of
images of Śākyamuni made by monks and nuns was still quite high,
at 20 percent or more, indicating that Śākyamuni remained a popular
focus of veneration among the clergy.
Whether it be for individual periods or overall, commoners made
about half as many images of Śākyamuni as officials or members of
the clergy. While the preceding statistics are unavoidably affected
by the random nature of the material, the overall trend cannot be
denied. Hence, the rate of worship of Śākyamuni among commoners
was substantially less than among officials or monks and nuns. This
is a notable phenomenon in the object of worship among these three

social groups.
Devotees referred to Śākyamuni by various names, most commonly
Shijiamouni ᤩ૫‫؍ۋ‬, Shijiawen ᤩ૫֮, and Shijia ᤩ૫, and some-
times as Shijia ‫ף׈‬, Shijia ᤩ‫ף‬, Shijiafo ᤩ૫۵, Shijiawen ‫( ֮ף׈‬all
variations of Śākyamuni), Rulai ‫( ࠐڕ‬Thus-come-one), and so forth.
In other words, the terminology was not yet unified, though very few
referred to Shijiamounifo ᤩ૫‫؍ۋ‬۵.
For understanding the geographic distribution of images of Śākya-
muni, the evidence is incomplete, making a comprehensive survey
difficult. One point, though, is clear: for the period 500–39, images of
Śākyamuni were concentrated in the Luoyang area.16 In that region,
worship of Śākyamuni was especially popular.
In the south, especially in the Sichuan region, there were also many
devotees of Śākyamuni. Of the 25 dated images from the Six Dynas-
ties discovered in Sichuan, 11 are images of Śākyamuni.17 In addition,
Emperor Wu of the Qi, of the Southern Dynasties, also once made an
image of Śākyamuni.18
Prabūtaratna (Duobao ‫ڍ‬ᣪ)

In the “Appearance of the Prabūtaratna stupa” chapter of the Lotus
sutra, Prabūtaratna appears as the Lotus sutra is being preached and
sits together with Śākyamuni in a stupa.19 The Lotus sutra was the most
popular scripture among devotees during the Six Dynasties.20 As it
spread, Prabūtaratna attracted the attention of devotees and became
an object of worship.
16
In this area, of a total of 80 images of Śākyamuni, 43, or more than 50 percent,
are found at Longmen. In particular, in the first 20 years of the 6th century, of 30
images of Śākyamuni, 23 are at Longmen. See Mizuno Seiichi and Nagahiro Toshio,
Ryūmon sekkutsu no kenkyū, vol. 2 (Kyoto, 1941), appended list of images in chrono-
logical order.
17
The statistics here are based on Long Xianzhao, ed., Ba Shu fojiao beiwen jicheng
(Chengdu, 2004), pp. 1–7; Zhang Xiaoma, Lei Yuhua, “Chengdushi Shangyejie Nanchao
shike zaoxiang,” Wenwu 2001.10, 4–18; 10, 14; Yuan Shuguang, “Sichuansheng bowu-
guan cang Wanfosi shike zaoxiang zhengli jianbao,” Wenwu 2001.10, 19–38; 20, 29, 31;
Huo Wei, “Sichuan daxue bowuguan shoucang de liangzun Nanchao shike zaoxiang,”
Wenwu 2001.10, 39–44; 40.
18
Sengyou ቖయ, Chu sanzang jiji ‫נ‬Կ៲ಖႃʳ12, “Fayuan zayuan yuanshi ji mulu,”
ऄ૒ᠧᒴ଺ࡨႃ‫ؾ‬ᙕ, in Su Jinren and Xiao Lianzi, eds (Beijing, 1995), p. 487.
19
Miaofa lianhua jingʳ‫ݎ‬ऄᓊဎᆖʳ (Saddharmapuṇ ḍariika) 8, T 262, p. 32b.
20
1104 hou xudong
Judging by the images, in the north belief in Prabūtaratna was popular

in the period 470–569. Statistically, images of Prabūtaratna underwent
a long period of development, from none to some (400–79), then
from a few to many (480–89), and then from a period of flourishing
to decline (489–569). At its peak, 16.7 percent of all Buddhist images
were of Prabūtaratna, while at the end of the Northern Dynasties, his
popularity fell to 0.7 percent, with only two images among 277 being
of Prabūtaratna, far from the one in 20 of the period of this buddha’s
greatest popularity. The fluctuation in popularity of Prabūtaratna is
easily discerned. If we take, for example, the Longmen caves, in the
middle period of the Northern Dynasties three images of Prabūtaratna
were made. After this, all the way up to the mid-Tang era, no images of
Prabūtaratna were made. In sum, during the Northern Dynasties, with
the exception of the period 470–89 when images of Prabūtaratna were
for a time popular, his popularity steadily declined in the subsequent
decades, until by the final years of the Northern Dynasties he was no
longer significant.
Worship of Prabūtaratna by commoners was also popular in the period
470–569, also following the pattern of a brief rise followed by a steady
decline. The height of popularity for the buddha was 470–89. After 490,
there was a rapid decline in manufacture of images of Prabūtaratna. At
the close of the Northern Dynasties, only 1.1 percent of images made
by commoners were of Prabūtaratna.
No images of Prabūtaratna commissioned by officials have been
found. Perhaps devotion to Prabūtaratna among officials was rare.
Images of Prabūtaratna commissioned by monks and nuns fall into
a clear periodicization. During the period 480–89, the number is very
high (this may in part reflect the random nature of our sources), and his
influence was great. In the decades that followed, images of Prabūtaratna
come and go, at times indicating a tendency toward decline, reflect-
ing the steady decline in popularity of the Prabūtaratna image among
monks and nuns.
Comparing the three types of devotees, worship of Prabūtaratna
among commoners had the greatest impact over the longest period of
time, followed by monks and nuns, with officials demonstrating the
least enthusiasm for this buddha. This then is another difference in the
cultic practices of these three social groups.
Devotees normally refer to Prabūtaratna as “Many Jewels” (Duobao
‫ڍ‬ᣪ; var.ʳ অ) and, in a few instances, as “Śākyamuni many jewels”
(Shijiaduobao ᤩ૫‫ڍ‬ᣪ). If we examine images of Prabūtaratna, most
are of Prabūtaratna seated together with Śākyamuni. But most devotees

referred to such images simply as “Prabūtaratna” rather than “Śākyamuni
and Prabūtaratna”, the reasons for which deserve closer scrutiny.
The original locations of images of Prabūtaratna where they can be
clearly determined are mostly in present-day Hebei, Henan, Shandong,
and Shanxi. Such images do not appear to have been a common object
of veneration throughout the north.
Bronze statues of Śākyamuni and Prabūtaratna seated together (or
rather two buddhas seated together) were common from the first year
of the Taihe era (470s) of the Northern Wei to the middle of the Sui
(the early part of the 7th century).21 Corresponding to this, devotion to
Prabūtaratna among northerners began to decline from the end of the
5th century, as the influence of the cult waned. The distinction between
the popularity of the two is very clear.
In the Sichuan region in the south, there were some devotees who
worshiped Śākyamuni and Prabūtaratna, creating images of the two
buddhas for worship.22 But judging by textual sources, this type of
devotion was not particularly popular.
In Buddhist scriptures, Prabūtaratna is not an especially influential
buddha. He is for the most part seen only in the Lotus sutra, and
seldom appears in related Buddhist scriptures. We may conclude that
the period of popular devotion to this buddha was closely tied to the
propagation of the Lotus sutra.
The Pensive bodhisattva (Siwei ৸൫)

From the latter part of the Northern Dynasties to the Sui, especially
in the northern part of what is now Hebei, devotion to the Pensive
bodhisattva was popular, with large numbers of Buddhist devotees cre-
ating images for worship. Before this time, the influence of the Pensive
bodhisattva was limited to the region of the Hexi corridor.23
21
Tian Jun, “Shijia Duobaofo bingzuo jintongfo de fenqi yu fenbu,” in Li Jingjie,
ed., Zhongguo jintongfo (Beijing, 1996), pp. 256–65; 262–63.
22
Image made by Zhang Yuan in the eleventh year of the Datong era of the Liang
(545). See Chengdushi wenwukaogu gongzuodui, “Chengdushi Xi’anlu Nanchao shike
zaoxiang qingli jianbao,” Wenwu 1998.11, 4–20; 9, 13.
23
Before this, the image made by Guo Yuanqing ພցᐜʳ of Yinmi district in the
16th year of the Taihe era (492) in the Northern Wei specifies that it is an image of
the Pensive prince ֜՗৸൫ቝ. See Jin Shen, Zhongguo lidai jinian foxiang tudian
(Beijing, 1994), p. 453. In the Northern Wei, Yinmi district belonged to Pingliang
commandery in Jingzhou, west of Lingtai county in present-day Gansu. The northern
1106 hou xudong
Among the 271 images excavated at Quyang ‫ڴ‬ၺ in Hebei, there

are 23 images from the Eastern Wei, Northern Qi, and Sui that are
explicitly identified as the Pensive bodhisattva in inscriptions. Another
24 images are apparently the Pensive bodhisattva, though their inscrip-
tions do not state so explicitly.24 At least five additional images of the
Pensive bodhisattva were discovered elsewhere in Hebei.25 All of this
reveals that devotion to the Pensive bodhisattva was a regional cult
in the latter part of the Northern Dynasties.
The devotees referred to the images as dragon-tree Pensive one ᚊᖫ৸൫,
the Pensive one ৸൫, or the Pensive prince ֜՗৸൫. Scholars have
different opinions on the scriptural source for these images. The gen-
eral consensus is that the images of the Pensive prince depict Gotama
Siddartha before his enlightenment beneath the bodhi tree. Some say
the dragon-tree Pensive one depicts Maitreya bodhisattva, but others
disagree.26
Relic cults
The Chinese word sheliʳॐ‫ܓ‬, “relics”, derives from the Sanskrit śarīra,
meaning body. It originally referred specifically to the physical remains
of Śākyamuni Buddha after his nirvana and subsequent cremation.
These relics were divided among eight rulers, each of whom erected
stupas to worship them.27 Later, the king Aśoka obtained a portion of
these relics and installed them in a single day in 80,000 stupas, known
as Aśokan stupas ॳߛ‫׆‬Ⴣ.28 In addition, in India there are a number
of types of stupas related to Buddhism, such as stupas for the relics of
wall of cave 275 at the Mogao caves in Dunhuang also contains a painted image of the
bodhisattva in half lotus from the Northern Liang in the early part of the 5th century.
This is the earliest image of the Pensive bodhisattva in half lotus. See Jin Shen, “Tan
banjia Siwei pusa xiang,” in Zhongguo lishi wenwu 2002.2, 78–81; 79. However, we
cannot determine if this bodhisattva had already entered the pantheon in the minds
of devotees or whether it was just an artistic motive from abroad.
24
Feng Hejun, Quyang baishi zaoxiang yanjiu (Beijing, 2005), pp. 82–83.
25
See Hou, Wu, liu shiji beifang minzhong fojiao xinyang, p. 121, note 1.
26
See Li Yumin, “ ‘Banjia Siwei xiang’ zaitan,” Gugong xueshu jikan 3.3 (1986), 41–57;
Li Jingjie, “Dingzhou baishi foxiang yishu zhong de banjia Siweixiang,” Shoucangjia
1998.4, 34–36; Jin Shen, “Tan banjia Siwei pusa xiang,” p. 79; Feng, Quyang baishi
zaoxiang yanjiu, pp. 82–95.
27
See Daoshi ሐ‫׈‬, Fayuan zhulin ऄ૒ఇࣥʳ 40, “Sheli pian, fenfa bu” ॐ‫ܓ‬ᒧ·
։ऄຝ, T 2122, vol. 53, pp. 599b–600a. On Buddhist relics, see John Strong, Relics
of the Buddha (Princeton, 2004); Zhanru, Jingfa yu fota—Yindu zaoqi fojiaoshi yanjiu,
Chapter 4, “Fotuo de pitu yu sheli gongyang” (Beijing, 2006), pp. 192–97.
28
See Fayuan zhulin 37, “Jingta pian, yinzheng bu,” p. 578c.
buddhas of the past, stupas containing fingernails or strands of hair

of Śākyamuni, stupas for śravakas, etc.29 In short, relics and the stupas
that contained them became an important focus of devotion after the
nirvana of the Buddha.
Relics probably entered China very early on, but did not become a
common focus of devotion until after the 6th century. In the middle
of the 3rd century, when Sun Quan ୪ᦞ was in power, it is said that
the monk Kang Senghui ൈቖᄎ, upon arriving in the Jiangnan region,
elicited a relic miracle as a demonstration before Sun, who then erected
a stupa and monastery. From this time on, we are told, “the great
Dharma spread throughout the region.” Historical records say that
Kang Senghui replied to a question from Sun Quan by saying “the
shifting traces of the Thus-come-one, transcend a thousand years. The
relics of his remains exhibit divine manifestations in countless ways.
Long ago King Aśoka erected 84,000 stupas. The building of stupas and
monasteries proclaim the teachings he left behind.”30 This passage clearly
connects relics with Aśoka’s project to erect stupas, but it is difficult to
determine if this is an accurate account of an exchange between Sun
Quan and Kang Senghui, or an addition by the author of the account,
Huijiao.31 Before the Liang we have very few records of relics or of
Aśoka’s stupas, despite the fact that in the Western Jin the Biography
of King Aśokaʳॳߛ‫׆‬ႚ, narrating the legend of how King Aśoka built
stupas to spread Buddhism, had already been translated.32
After the 6th century, a new translation of the Scripture of King Aśokaʳ
ॳߛ‫׆‬ᆖʳreceived special attention from Emperor Wu of the Liang, who
personally copied it. At this time, the cult of relics expanded to a much
wider scale: reliquaries of gold and lapis lazuli containing relics were
discovered buried beneath the earth, a Buddha tooth was found in a
family’s residence, and any number of “Aśokan stupas” were discovered
throughout the empire, leading in the Tang to the legend that 19 of
Aśoka’s 84,000 stupas were built in China.33 In the Sui, the relic cult
29
See Zhanru, Jingfa yu fota, pp. 198–210.
30
Huijiao ᐝญ, Gaoseng zhuan 1, “Yijing, Kang Senghui zhuan” ᤟ᆖ, ൈቖᄎႚ,
annotated by Tang Yongtong, ed. (Beijing, 1992), pp. 15–16.
31
John Kieschnick argues that this appears to be a 4th- or 5th-century legend. See
The impact of Buddhism on Chinese material culture (Princeton, 2003), p. 32.
32
Ayuwang zhuanʳॳߛ‫׆‬ႚ, T 2042, vol. 50, pp. 99a–131a. For the legend of Aśoka,
see also John Strong, The legend of Aśoka: a study and translation of the Aśokāvadāna
(Princeton, 1992).
33
Fayuan zhulin 38, “Jingta pian, guta bu” ᄃჃᒧ, ਚჃຝ, pp. 584c–85a.
1108 hou xudong
reached an unprecedented level, with the court ordering the erection

of 100 stupas throughout the empire to house relics.34 Nonetheless, the
relic cult flourished for the most part among the upper strata of society,
where it was often used to legitimate political authority.35
In origin, stupas and relics are closely related, but in China the rec-
ognition of the close relationship between the two was relatively late.
Stupas appeared much earlier than relic worship. In the later years of
the Han the stupa ( futu ௬ቹ) had already appeared. Subsequently,
most monasteries whether in the north or the south were centered on
stupas.36 And even cave temples had as their center a “central pillar”
that was modeled on a stupa.37 In addition, some devotees focused their
worship on the stupa or futu.38 But whether in the case of the stupa of
the monastery or the futu made by devotees, it is difficult to determine
if this type of worship was always related to the relic cult.39
Maitreya
Maitreya is the bodhisattva who will, according to Buddhist scripture, be
the first after Śākyamuni to become a buddha. He is, in other words, a
“future buddha”. Maitreya appears in both Mahayana and non Mahayana
scriptures, and is venerated in all Buddhist traditions. He appears in
China already in translations from the end of the Eastern Han. After
the Western Jin there are a number of translations of texts devoted to
praising Maitreya, leading to the subsequent development of the cult
of Maitreya.
In the north, in the latter half of the fourth century, Dao’an ሐ‫ڜ‬
(312–385), the preeminent monastic leader of his day for Buddhists,
whether from the north or the south, was one of the first monks to
promote the cult to Maitreya. Dao’an repeatedly took vows together
with his disciples before an image of Maitreya to be born in Tuṣita
34
See You Ziyong, “Sui Wendi Renshou ban tianxia sheli kao,” Shijie zongjiao yanjiu
2003.1, 24–30; Kieschnick, The impact of Buddhism, pp. 40–42.
35
See Nishiwaki Tsuneki, “Shari shinkō to sōden—zenrin sōhōden no likai no tame
ni,” in his Tōdai no shisō to bunka (Tokyo, 2000), pp. 253–82.
36
For details see the chapter by Li Yuqun in volume one.
37
See Li Chongfeng, “Zhongyuan beifang tadong—Hanhua de tamiao ku,” in
Zhong Yin fojiao shikusi bijiao yanjiu—yi tamiaodu wei zhongxin (Beijing, 2003), pp.
210–68.
38
See Hou, Wu, liu shiji beifang minzhong fojiao xinyang, pp. 121–23.
39
Kieschnick, The impact of Buddhism, pp. 39–40.
heaven. And it is said that several days before he died, he had a vision
of the wonders of Tuṣita.40
Many of Dao’an’s disciples also became devotees of Maitreya, as
revealed in biographies of Zhu Sengfu ाቖ᎖, Daoyuan ሐᣋ, and Tanjie
ᖣ‫ݹ‬.41 At the same time, visualizing and reciting the name of Maitreya
were meditative practices carried out by many monks in the north. All
of this was closely related to the cult of Maitreya among monks.42
These meditative practices originated in Kashmir. After coming to
China, they spread first in the west. At the beginning of the 5th century,
the Maitreya cult spread first in the Liangzhou ළ‫ڠ‬ʳ region. In Turfan,
in present-day Xinjiang, in Jiuquan ಺ੈ, Gansu, and in Dunhuang
many stone stupas from the 420s and 430s have been discovered with
images of Maitreya accompanied by a set of the “seven buddhas of the
past”, and with inscriptions in which devotees vow to “meet Maitreya”.43
This is evidence for the earliest cult to Maitreya among devotees in
the north.
Analysis of images of Maitreya reveals that devotion to Maitreya in
other parts of the north only appears sporadically ten years later. And
in the space of more than a century, from the 460s to the end of the
Northern Dynasties, the cult to Maitreya persisted. This was probably
the period of the greatest fervor for the Maitreya cult. Within this period,
460–529 was the height of the Maitreya cult and the construction of
Maitreya images. After this time, the Maitreya cult gradually declined,
and by the end of the Northern Dynasties it was a pale reflection of
what it had been.
Looking at the social background of the devotees, before the end of
the Northern Wei, Maitreya worship was prevalent among commoners,
40
Gaoseng zhuan 5, “Biography of Dao’an,” p. 183.
41
Gaoseng zhuan 5, “Biography of Zhu Sengfu,” p. 196; 5 “Biography of Tanjie,”
p. 204.
42
Liu Huida, “Bei Wei shiku yu Chan,” in Kaogu xuebao 1978.3, 337–52, especially
346–47; Alan Sponberg, “Meditation in Fa-hsiang Buddhism,” in Peter N. Gregory,
ed., Traditions of meditation in Chinese Buddhism (Honolulu, 1986), pp. 15–43, espe-
cially p. 22; Su Bai, “Nanchao kanxiang yiji chutan,” Kaogu xuebao 1989.4, 389–412,
especially 406.
43
Du Doucheng, Bei Liang fojiao yanjiu (Taibei, 1998), pp. 189–242, especially
pp. 217–23. See also Eugene Wang, “What do trigrams have to do with buddhas?
The Northern Liang stupas as a hybrid spatial model,” Res 35 (Spring 1999), 70–92,
especially 81. For a different opinion, see Gu Zhengmei, “Zaitan Su Bai de Liangzhou
moshi,” in Duan Wenjie, ed., Dunhuang shiku yanjiu guoji taolunhui wenji (Shenyang,
1990), pp. 85–122. Stanley K. Abe raises the issue of the polyvalence of imagery. See
Stanley K. Abe, Ordinary images (Chicago, 2002), p. 166.
1110 hou xudong
while after the fall of the Northern Wei we see less and less evidence of
commoners worshipping Maitreya. There is evidence of officials making
images and worshipping Maitreya already in the 440s, but these are
special cases. For the most part, we have to wait until after 480 to see
heavy involvement of officials in the cult to Maitreya, with the period
480–529 representing the period of most intense activity. From 530 to
the end of the Northern Dynasties, the cult gradually declined among
officials, but for the period as a whole, Maitreya had been an important
focus of devotion for officials.
Monks and nuns made images of Maitreya from 480 until the end of
the Northern Dynasties. The Maitreya cult seems to have been impor-
tant for monastics throughout this period. Approximately 530 was the
turning point when the making of images to Maitreya began to decline.
The cult passed from gradual increase, to popularity, to decline. Overall,
the Maitreya cult was an important focus of worship among monks and
nuns, though it was clearly more popular before 530.
Comparing the cult to Maitreya among devotees from the three dif-
ferent backgrounds, all underwent a process of introduction, growth,
and decline, with the turning point concentrated in the years 520–30.
But the rise in numbers of devotees who made images of Maitreya varies
according to social group. The first to make such images were com-
moners, followed by officials, with monastics coming slightly later. In
addition, there are also clear differences in the percentage of Maitreya
images in the three different groups. Whether for particular periods, or
overall, there is a larger percentage of images of Maitreya among offi-
cials and monks for the same period than for commoners. At times the
percentage of images of Maitreya among images made by commoners
is less than half that among the other groups for the same period, as is
the case, for instance, in the period 500–29. In other words, the level of
enthusiasm for Maitreya was higher among officials, monks, and nuns
than it was among commoners for the same period. This is yet another
difference in the focus of worship for the three groups.
According to extant materials, the worship and creation of images
of Maitreya was spread throughout the north, but with concentra-
tions in Longmen and in the north of present-day Shandong. In the
40 years from 500 to the end of the 530s, 35 images of Maitreya were
made at the Longmen caves. For the same period, a total of 88 images
were made of Maitreya in the north, approaching a ratio of two-fifths,
all of which reveals the popularity of the Maitreya cult in the region.
Maitreya images were common in present-day northern Shandong,
corresponding to the Qizhou Ꮨ‫ڠ‬ʳ and Qingzhou ॹ‫ ڠ‬region of the

Northern Wei. In the Northern Dynasties, there were at least 22 images
of Maitreya made in Shandong. Of these, the majority came from the
northern part of Shandong.
For the most part devotees referred to the deity in these images as
Maitreya (Mile ᚦ೬). In a few cases, he is referred to as Maitreya bud-
dha or as Maitreya the seventh buddha, or as the image of the honored
one Maitreya ᚦ೬༇ቝ. In several instances the image is referred to as
an “image of Maitreya descending to be born” ᚦ೬Հ‫س‬ቝ, and in very
rare cases as “Maitreya ascending to be born” ᚦ೬Ղ‫س‬ቝ. According
to Buddhist scripture, Maitreya resides in a palace in Tuṣita where he
preaches the Dharma. After fifty-six hundred million years, Maitreya
will descend to be born among us where he will become a buddha
and preach the Dharma. In Buddhist scriptures, Maitreya is generally
termed a bodhisattva, but the majority of devotees are not at all clear
on his status, or have never paid much attention to it. Judging by the
iconography of the images of Maitreya in the Northern Dynasties,
Maitreya went from a cross-legged bodhisattva to a buddha. Before
the Taihe era the cross-legged bodhisattva was most popular; after it,
Maitreya increasingly is depicted adorned as a buddha. But this change
is only very rarely reflected in inscriptions.
Another important aspect of the Maitreya cult is the “three assem-
blies at the dragon-flower tree” ᚊဎԿᄎ. According to the Scripture
of Maitreya becoming a buddhaʳᚦ೬‫ګ‬۵ᆖ, and the Scripture of Mai-
treya descending to be born ᚦ೬Հ‫س‬ᆖ, after fifty-six hundred-million
years in Tuṣita Heaven, Maitreya will be born as a man. At a “majestic
vajra sanctum” ८ଶ๗ᣤሐ໱ beneath a dragon-flower bodhi tree, he
will become a buddha and speak to an assembly of men and gods on
the four noble truths and the twelve-fold chain of causation. Beneath
the dragon-flower tree in the Hualin garden ဎࣥႼ he will hold three
assemblies, and all those who attend will achieve arhatship. Together
these three assemblies are known as the “three assemblies of the dragon-
flower tree”.
Many devotees longed to be present at these assemblies. The language
of their vows, recorded in inscriptions, reflects changes in their attitudes
and goals. Before the 530s, the vows were often “to hear the words of
the Dharma at the three assemblies of the dragon-flower tree when
Maitreya descends and is born,” or to hear him “speak on the Dharma
at the three assemblies beneath the tree when he becomes incarnate at
the dragon-flower.” Most devotees simply wished to be present at the
1112 hou xudong
third assembly, and did not emphasize presence at the first assembly.
After the 530s, they aspired to be present at the first assembly, and the
desire to be present from the beginning becomes increasingly appar-
ent. They vowed “When the first assembly is held, may I be the first
to listen,” “I wish to be the first to sing [his praises],” “I wish to be
the first,” “the first assembly at the dragon-flower,” “May I be the very
first,” “At the first assembly of Maitreya, I wish to be made the first.”
The vows of the devotees became increasingly urgent.
Judging by these vows, the main reason devotees wanted to attend
the three assemblies at the dragon-flower was to hear the Dharma,
understand it, and achieve enlightenment. The vows ask to “attend the
three assemblies of Maitreya . . . to hear the buddha Dharma, become
enlightened to the acceptance of non-arising compassion, and together
to achieve correct awakening.” “At the . . . assembly, to await at the front
and hear in order to achieve enlightenment.” “At the time of the dragon-
flower to at once become enlightened to the Way.” In addition, there
are also those who hope to participate in the three assemblies in order
to achieve eternal bliss. Hence some inscriptions state: “At the three
assemblies of the dragon-flower, may we obtain eternal bliss.”
After 440, a small number of devotees accepted the notion and
employed the vow of the dragon-flower assemblies. From 490 to the
end of the Northern Dynasties it became relatively popular. However,
at the end of the Northern Dynasties the belief began to wane. Among
devotees from different social groups, the belief was first popular among
commoners who continued it for a relatively long period of time.
Among monks and nuns, after the 540s, the influence of this belief
was already very limited.
Geographically, the first places the cult spread were Yingzhou ᡡ
‫ڠ‬ʳ (present-day central Hebei) and Jizhou ᕧ‫( ڠ‬present-day northern
Shandong), where it had already appeared in the 440s and 470s. By the
end of the 5th century, it was popular in Luoyang and the southern part
of present-day Henan. After the 6th century, devotees in Shaanxi and
in Shanxi began to make images with these vows. All the way until the
end of the Northern Dynasties and even after the founding of the Sui,
devotees from various regions still commonly employed these vows.44
Maitreya belief also led to popular uprisings, with “the appearance of
Maitreya” as their slogan, especially in the Northern Dynasties and in
44
the Sui-Tang period. In sum, devotees vowed “to be at the fore in the
assemblies of the dragon-flower” as a part of their aspiration to receive
external assistance so that they could achieve enlightenment.
According to Buddhist scriptures, the “three assemblies at the dragon-
flower” are a component part of the Maitreya cult, but among devotees
who vowed to attend the “three assemblies at the dragon-flower” in the
north during the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Dynasties period, very
few sought to be born in Tuṣita heaven in order to worship Maitreya
there. In China, the “three assemblies at the dragon-flower” circulated
as an independent vow.45
The Maitreya cult in the south

From the middle of the 4th century, Buddhist devotees in the south
began to understand and worship Maitreya, and the Maitreya cult
gradually became a widespread and influential form of Buddhist devo-
tion there.
The Eastern Jin exegetical monk Zhi Dun ֭ሜ (ca. 314–66) once wrote
a “Paean to Maitreya” which touches on Maitreya’s status among the
pantheon of buddhas as well as the assembly Maitreya will convoke at
the dragon-flower. It includes the major themes attached to the Maitreya
cult in Buddhist scripture (on which see below), and demonstrates that,
at least as early as this time, in the south it was possible for devotees
to completely grasp the principle ideas of the Maitreya cult. Maitreya
devotee Dao’an trained several disciples who were later active in the
Jingzhou ౸‫ڠ‬ʳ region.46 At that time, monks in the capital at Jiankang
৬ൈ (present-day Nanjing city in Jiangsu) also established a hermitage
45
On the subject of vows to be reborn in Tuṣita heaven in inscriptions related
to Maitreya or Śākyamuni, if we examine inscriptions about Maitreya and the vow
to participate in the assemblies at the dragon-flower tree, we soon discover that the
two or all three seldom appear together. In images of Maitreya and Śākyamuni 88
percent and 92 percent respectively do not mention a vow to be reborn in Tuṣita or
at the dragon-flower assemblies. Among inscriptions vowing to be reborn at the three
dragon-flower assemblies, 75 percent are not accompanied by images of Maitreya or
Śākyamuni. Vows to ascend to Tuṣita to see Maitreya that mention other aspects of
the Maitreya cult are more common, but still 46 percent of inscriptions to images
of Maitreya contain no reference to other aspects of the cult. Clearly, most devotees
did not promote two or more of these aspects of the Maitreya cult. Most either made
offerings to Maitreya or Śākyamuni, or expressed an independent vow to participate
in the dragon-flower assemblies or to be reborn in Tuṣita heaven to see Maitreya. See
Hou, Wu, liu shiji beifang minzhong fojiao xinyang, p. 97.
46
Gaoseng zhuan 5, “Biography of Sengfu” ቖ᎖, p. 196; 5, “Biography of Tanjie”
ᖣ‫ݹ‬, p. 204.
1114 hou xudong
dedicated to Maitreya, and as far away as Chengdu in Sichuan monks

built an image of Maitreya.47 Hence, from the middle part of the Eastern
Jin, devotion to Maitreya can be found from the eastern to the western
reaches of the empire. Of course, judging by extant sources, most of
these devotees were monks. Many such monks prayed to the deity to
help them to resolve doubts or to receive the precepts.48
After entering the Southern Dynasties, the Maitreya cult won over even
more followers. In various regions monks and nuns made images of
Maitreya, constructed hermitages dedicated to Maitreya, made vows to
be reborn in Tuṣita heaven, or lectured on scriptures about Maitreya.49
An even more important development in the Maitreya cult was the
increasing numbers of non monastic devotees. Zhou Yong ࡌ㌔ com-
posed the “Vow to attend the dragon-flower [assembly] of Emperor
Ming of the Song” ‫ࣔݚ‬০ॣທᚊဎᎃᣋ֮; Xiao Ziliang ᘕ՗ߜ (460–94),
Prince of Jingling of the Qi Ꮨຶສ‫׆‬, wrote the “Record of the dragon-
flower assembly”; and an anonymous writer composed a “Record of the
three assemblies for the creation of an image of Maitreya by the devo-
tional society of the capital” ࠇஃ壆߳ທᚦ೬ቝԿᄎಖ.50 Xiao Ji ᘕધ,
47
See the fragments of the Mingseng zhuanʳ‫ټ‬ቖႚʳoriginally compiled in the Liang
dynasty by the monk Baochang ᣪഀ and preserved through a copy made in medieval
times by a Japanese monk, the Myōsōden chō ‫ټ‬ቖႚ‫ݻ‬, Biographies of Sengshou ቖ࠹
and Huiyan ༡ᣤ, in Nakano Tatsue, ed., Dai Nihon zokuzōkyō (Kyoto, 1905–12),
2B.7, p. 17, b5–6.
48
See Liu Changdong, Jin Tang Mituo jingtu xinyang yanjiu, pp. 32–33; Dorothy
C. Wong, Chinese steles: pre-Buddhist and Buddhist use of a symbolic form (Honolulu,
2004), p. 92.
49
In the ninth year of the Yuanjia era (432) of the Song, the monk Faxiang ऄ壁
established the Maitreya hermitage ᚦ೬壄ॐ, and in the 16th year of the Yuanjia
era (439) Daojiao ሐᐅ of the Longhua monastery ᚊဎ‫ ڝ‬in Jiankang made a seated
image of Maitreya; Myōsōden chō 1B.7, pp. 14a, 13b. The nun Daoqiong ሐᡯ made an
image of Maitreya for the Waguan monastery ‫ ڝࡴر‬in Jiankang (Baochang ᣪഀ,
Biqiuni zhuan ֺ‫؍׋‬ႚʳ2, “Biography of Daoliang,” T 2063, vol. 50, p. 938a). Sengmin
ቖᲂ of the Liang era once “made a Maitreya buddha with all the ritual imple-
ments”; Daoxuan ሐ৙, Xu gaoseng zhuanʳ ᥛ೏ቖႚʳ 5, T 2060, vol. 50, p. 463b.
The nun Guangjing ٠ᙩ of the Liu-Song era “focused on Tuṣita with her every thought”
(Biqiuni zhuan 2, p. 939b). Xuanzao ‫خ‬ᤏ had similar aspirations. The nun Jingxiu
෣ߐ of the Liang era was said to have ascended to Tuṣita after her death (Biqiuni
zhuan 4, p. 945c). Among the many scriptures lectured on by the enthusiastic pros-
elytizer of the Qi-Liang era, Baoliang ᣪॽ, was the Scripture of Maitreya’s descent
and birthʳᚦ೬Հ‫س‬ᆖ, which he lectured on close to ten times. See Gaoseng zhuan
8, “Biography of Baoliang,” p. 337.
50
Chu sanzang jiji 12, “Fayuan zayuan yuanshi ji mulu,” p. 486.
Prince Wuling of the Liang ඩࣳສ‫׆‬, also once commissioned an

image of Maitreya in Chengdu for the sake of his deceased parents.51
And Shen Yue ާપ (441–513) wrote a “Paean for Maitreya” ᚦ೬ᢥ.52
Devotion to Maitreya appeared as well among ordinary commoners
during the Southern Dynasties. Today we can see various extant images
of Maitreya from the Liu-Song through the Liang. Three such images
have been found in the Sichuan region alone.53 Although the number of
Maitreya images in the south cannot compare with the north, the limited
number of images that have been found include officials, members of
the imperial family, monks, and commoners, revealing the extent of
the influence of the Maitreya cult in the Southern Dynasties.
Of particular note in the worship of Maitreya in the south are the
number of devotees who themselves held “dragon-flower Dharma
assemblies.” According to the Tang monk Daoshi ሐ‫–?( ׈‬683), Emperor
Ming of the Song (r. 465–72) was the first to convene a dragon-flower
Dharma assembly. He erected an image of Maitreya and had it placed
by a tree in an imperial garden that represented the tree under which
Maitreya will become a buddha.54 There he gathered a large assembly
of monks and lay people. This continued until “on auspicious moments
of every year the three assemblies were held without fail.” This practice
reached its height after the Southern Qi under the active promotion of
the imperial family. Apart from Emperor Ming of the Qi, the prince
of Jingling, Xiao Ziliang, was an even more enthusiastic supporter
of the practice, and further expanded the ritual. Later, however, the
practice declined and few continued to hold the dragon-flower assem-
bly.55 Daoshi states that after Prince Jingling, “The great assembly
51
Gao Wen, Gao Chenggang, eds, Sichuan lidai beike (Chengdu, 1990), p. 87.
52
Guang hongming ji 16, p. 212.
53
From the Liu-Song dynasty, images made by Liu Guo Ꮵഏ, and by Min Zheng-
xuan ၰ‫ خإ‬and his wife; from the Liang dynasty images by Gongsun Bocheng ֆ୪
‫ ৄ܄‬and Tao Qian ຯᔢ, and the image of Maitreya made by the monk Sengcheng
ቖ‫ ګ‬in the third year of the Datong era of the Liang (529) preserved in the National
Palace Museum in Beijing (Feng, Quyang baishi zaoxiang yanjiu, pp. 73, 74). An
image by Xuansong ‫خ‬ვ from the first year of the Yongming era of the Qi (483) was
unearthed in Sichuan (Gao, Sichuan lidai beike, p. 83), an image by Shi Fahai ᤩऄ௧
and his mother in the eighth year of the Yongming era of the Qi (490); Chengdushi
wenwukaogu gongzuodui, “Chengdushi Xi’anlu Nanchao shike zaoxiang qingli jianbao,”
pp. 6, 8, and the inscription by Xiao Ji noted above.
54
On the history of the imperial garden, the Shanglin grove Ղࣥ૒, see Lu Hai-
ming, Liuchao ducheng (Nanjing, 2002), p. 215.
55
Fayuan zhulin 16, p. 402a.
1116 hou xudong
was seldom convened.” This may have been true of the capital region
around Jiankang in the Southern Dynasties, but in fact the fashion of
the “dragon-flower Dharma assembly” had already become popular
in other southern regions besides Jiankang. According to the Record
of the seasons and times of Jing-Chu ౸ᄑᄣழಖ, a work that records
events in the Hubei region for the later part of the 6th century, in the
Jing-Chu region, every year on the eighth day of the fourth month each
monastery would hold a Dharma assembly at which they would “bathe
the buddha with fragrant water and convene a dragon-flower assembly
as a sign of Maitreya’s birth below.”56 This was already half a century
after the death of Xiao Ziliang (in 494). Moreover, these assemblies were
organized by monasteries and were conducted every year on the eighth
day of the fourth month. Unlike the assemblies held by the imperial
family in Jiankang during the Song and Qi dynasties, these assemblies
seem to have incorporated commoners, becoming a constituent part of
everyday life, and were unaffected by the decline and disappearance of a
similar ceremony in the capital. The reasons for this are closely related
to the expectations Buddhist devotees held for the “three assemblies
of the dragon-flower” during the Southern Dynasties. Among images
unearthed in Sichuan are two inscribed with the “vow to be among the
first at the three assemblies of the dragon-flower.”57
According to Buddhist scriptures, the Dharma assembly of the drag-
on-flower will be held after fifty-six hundred million years, a moment
in the far-distant future. But Buddhist devotees in the Southern Dynas-
ties could not wait for the Dharma assembly to be held, reflecting their
fervent desire to see a buddha and achieve enlightenment and release.
While the form this desire took in the south was different, the sense
of urgency was the same.
Whether in the south or the north, by the end of the Six Dynasties
period, the number of devotees to Maitreya had already greatly dimin-
ished. The cult became even weaker in the Sui and Tang.58 Later still,
following on the popularity of the legend of Reverend Budai ؒ๳ࡉࡸ,
56
Quoted in Han E, Sui hua ji li ᄣဎધᣝ 2, in Congshu jicheng chubian, vol. 172
(Beijing, 1985), p. 43.
57
One is the image made by Shi Fahai and his mother in 490 (note 53 above). The
other is an image made by the Northern Wei monk Huileng ༡ᄛ in Guangyuan
ᐖց; Guangyuanshi wenwuguanlisuo, “Guangyuan xin faxian de fojiao zaoxiang,”
Wenwu 1990.6, 30–31.
58
See Huang Minzhi, “Tangdai minjian de Mile xinyang ji qi huodong,” Dalu zazhi
78.6 (June 1989), 7–19.
who claimed to be an incarnation of Maitreya,59 the earlier Maitreya cult

diminished even further. Nonetheless, belief in the “three assemblies of
the dragon-flower”, tied to the eventual birth of Maitreya among us,
continued to exist for some time. Even into late imperial times, popular
religious groups employed this belief.60
The Amitābha cult

The most important Buddhist scriptures concerning Amitābha are the
Scripture of infinite life (Wuliangshou jing ྤၦኂᆖ), the Scripture on the
meditation on infinite life (Guan wuliangshou jing ᨠྤၦኂᆖ), and the
Amitābha scripture (Amituo jing ॳᚦॲᆖ). Already in the Eastern Han
the translation of these works had begun, and by the Liu-Song period,
all three had been translated into Chinese.61 But for reliable evidence
of the cult of Amitābha in China, we have to wait until the beginning
of the 4th century.62
At the onset of the 4th century, the Amitābha cult appeared first in
the south, where devotees expressed a desire to be reborn after their
death in the western pure land. The majority of these devotees were
members of the aristocracy and monastics. The most common form
this type of worship took was the erection and worship of images.63 The
monk Zhu Daolin ाሐᔣ who lived in the eastern part of the empire
in Wuxing ‫ܦ‬ᘋ (present-day Huzhou city ྋ‫ ؑڠ‬in Zhejiang) made
an image of Amitāyus, an alternate name for Amitābha. And another
monk and devotee of “Amitāyus as the cause of the pure land,” Zhu
Fakuang ाऄᡛ, led a group to construct a large hall for a buddha
image.64 The prominent figure Dai Kui ᚮၛ, who died in 396, spent
three years of his life crafting an image of Amitāyus and his attendants.65
The figure with the greatest subsequent influence from this period was
59
Daoyuan ሐ଺ , Jingde chuandeng lu ནᐚႚᗉᙕ 27, T 2076, vol. 51,
pp. 434a–b.
60
Ma Xisha and Han Bingfang, Zhongguo minjian zongjiao shi (Shanghai, 1992),
pp. 54–60, 149–56, 1181–82. Hubert Seiwert, in collaboration with Ma Xisha, Popular
religious movements and heterodox sects in Chinese history (Leiden, 2003), pp. 126,
348, 464.
61
See Mochizuki Shinkō, Shina jōdō kyōrishi (Tokyo, 1942), pp. 11–15, 36–44; Wang
Qing, Wei Jin Nanbeichao shiqi de fojiao xinyang yu shenhua, pp. 39–44.
62
See Liu Changdong, Jin Tang Mituo jingtu xinyang yanjiu, p. 9.
63
Ibid., p. 10.
64
Gaoseng zhuan 5, “Biography of Zhu Fakuang,” pp. 205–06.
65
Fayuan zhulin 16, p. 406a.
1118 hou xudong
Huiyuan ᐝ᎛, who in 404 led 123 of his followers to confess and take
vows before an image of Amitāyus in the hopes that they would all be
reborn in the western pure land.66 In addition to Huiyuan’s disciples,
other prominent figures resident there such as Liu Yimin Ꮵᙊ‫ا‬ʳ and
Zong Bing ࡲ੢ also took part. This together with the creation of an
image by Dai Kui reveals that devotion to Amitābha was not limited to
monks, and that the cult had begun to win followers from among the
literati. From these events we can conclude that devotees to Amitābha
were active all the way from Wuxing and Jiankang to Mount Lu ᡔ՞,
establishing a foundation for the eventual spread of the cult throughout
the south.
Upon Huiyuan’s death, many of his disciples traveled throughout
the empire, arriving in Shu ᇋ (present-day Sichuan), Jingxiang ౸ᝊ
(Hubei), Hengxiang ᘝྉ (Hunan), and Wu-Yue ‫ܦ‬။ (southern Jiangsu
and Zhejiang). And from this time the Amitābha cult spread even more
widely in the south.67
After the 5th century, the Amitābha cult spread rapidly in the south.
Scriptures related to Amitābha were translated one after the other into
Chinese, including the Scripture of infinite life, which was repeatedly
retranslated.68 Images of Amitābha were made in various regions.
Even Emperor Xiaowu of the Song (r. 454–64) made a golden image
of Amitābha,69 revealing the interest in Amitābha among the impe-
rial family. At the end of the 5th century,70 Ming Sengshao ࣔቖฯ
and his son, together with a monk, constructed a statue of Amitāyus
with two bodhisattvas on Mount She ᥊՞ʳ near the capital at Jiankang
(present-day Qianfoyan Տ۵ࡿʳ on Mount Qixia ཨដ՞ʳ near Nanjing,
Jiangsu). A number of members of the imperial family actively partici-
pated, including the famous Prince Jingling, Xiao Ziliang.71 Xiao Ziliang
66
For details, see Gaoseng zhuan 6, “Biography of Huiyuan,” p. 214.
67
See Liu Changdong, Jin Tang Mituo jingtu xinyang yanjiu, pp. 41–49.
68
Chu sanzang jiji 2 “Xin jizhuan chujing lü lun lu” ᄅႃᐷ‫נ‬ᆖ৳ᓵᙕ, pp. 54,
56, 60. See also Kenneth K. Tanaka, The dawn of Chinese pure land Buddhist doctrine:
Ching-ying Hui-yüan’s commentary on the Visualization sutra (Albany, 1990), pp.
15–16.
69
Chu sanzang jiji 12 “Fayuan zayuan yuanshi jimu lu, zatuxiang ji,” ᠧቹቝႃ,
p. 487.
70
The precise period was from the second year of the Yongming era (484) to the
fourth year of the Jianwu era (497) or to the second year of the Yongyuan era (500).
This, according to Su Bai, “Nanchao kanxiang yiji chutan,” pp. 391–92.
71
Jiang Zong, “Jinling Sheshan Qixiasi bei,” in the Qing-dynasty work by Yan Guan,
Jiangning jinshi ji 1, pp. 13–16, collected in Shike shiliao xinbian, series 1, vol. 13 (Taibei,
1977), pp. 10067–68; see also Mochizuki, Shina jōdō kyōrishi, pp. 49–59.
and his son also personally copied the Scripture of infinite life.72 During
the Liang dynasty, Emperor Jianwen (r. 549–50) composed the “Inscrip-
tion for an image of Amitābha,” which praises the merit of Amitābha in
delivering all beings.73 The famous literatus of the Qi and Liang dynasty
period Shen Yue also wrote an “Inscription for Amitābha-buddha,” in
which he expresses an enduring yearning to live in the pure land of
Amitābha.74 There are numerous accounts in the historical record of
monks who made images of Amitābha, copied or chanted scriptures
about Amitābha, or who vowed to be reborn in the kingdom of peace
and repose ‫ڜ‬塄ഏ or in the western pure land after they died.75 In addi-
tion, while it can be argued that Buddhist miracle tales about Amitābha
are at some level religious propaganda that do not necessarily reflect
the beliefs of devotees, inscriptions on Buddhist images reliably express
the presence of devotion to Amitābha. From the mid-5th century, as
far away as Sichuan, ordinary devotees made images of Amitābha.76 In
504 a monk named Fahai ऄ௧ made a stone image of Amitābha for his
deceased mother and elder sister. Subsequently, we have many examples
of devotees who, even when the image they made was not of Amitābha,
in their inscriptions included phrases such as “together we will go to
the west,” “together we will be reborn in the west,” or “directly to be
Chu sanzang jiji 12, “Qi taizai Jingling Wenxuan wang faji lu” Ꮨ֜୬ຶສ֮
72
৙‫׆‬ऄႃᙕ and “Qi Jingling wang shizi fujun Baling wang faji lu” Ꮨຶສ‫׈׆‬՗
ᐿ૨֣ສ‫׆‬ऄႃᙕʿ pp. 452, 457.
73
See “Neidian xia, Sibei,” in Yiwen leiju 77, Ouyang Xun, ed., 2nd ed. (Shanghai,
1999), p. 1317.
74
Guang hongming ji 16, p. 211c. On the Amitābha cult among the upper class in
the Southern Dynasties, see Liu Changdong, Jin Tang Mituo jingtu xinyang yanjiu,
pp. 166–174.
75
See the the biographies of Sengbao ቖᣪ, Zhitong ཕຏ, Sengxian ቖ᧩, Sengqi
ቖᏘ, Fazhen ऄੴ, Sengchang ቖዃ, Faming ऄࣔ, Sengquan ቖᇭ, Senghong
ቖੋ, Daojing ሐᙩ, and Huijing ༡ᄃ in Myōsōden setsujo appended to the Myōsōden
2B.7, pp. 15b, 16a, 16b, 17a. Gaoseng zhuan 8, “Biography of Fadu” ऄ৫, p. 331; 11,
“Biography of Falin” ऄྱ, p. 437; 12, “Biography of Tanhong” ᖣ‫ؖ‬, p. 456. See also
Liu Changdong, Jin Tang Mituo jingtu xinyang yanjiu, pp. 96–100.
76
For instance the “Shikangjun Jinfengxian____Xiong zao Wuliangshou xiang”
ࡨൈಷவ᠆ᗼϭዼທྤॽ(ၦ) ኂቝ from the 25th year of the Yuanjia era (448),
discovered near Chengdu at the Wanfo monastery ᆄ۵‫ ;ڝ‬Duan Fang, Taozhai cang-
shi ji 5, p. 4a, in Beijing Lu Xun bowuguan and Shanghai Lu Xun jinianguan, eds, Lu
Xun jijiao shike shougao, 18 vols (Shanghai, 1987), case 2, 1.3–4. According to Shen
Yue’s Songshu 38, “Zhoujun zhi 4,” Yizhou, Shikang commandery was established in
the time of Emperor An of the Jin (r. 397–418) for immigrants from Guanlong ᣂᣃ,
with its administrative center in Chengdu (Beijing, 1974), p. 1175.
1120 hou xudong
reborn in the west in the kingdom of Amitāyus.”77 All of these indicate

acceptance of some of the tenets of the cult of Amitābha. We can say
then that the Amitābha cult had a foothold in the south in both court
and provinces, cities and countryside.
However, even if the Amitābha cult developed steadily in the south,
there were no commentaries on Amitābha scriptures composed there,
indicating that exegetical monks were not particularly interested in
this type of scripture.78 If we look at the development of the Amitābha
cult in the south throughout the Six Dynasties period, of particular
note is that for the people of the time, regardless of whether they were
monks, literati, members of the imperial family, or ordinary devotees,
they themselves termed the images they made images of Amitāyus
ྤၦኂቝ. The scripture they translated, recited, and copied was called
the Amitāyus scriptureʳྤၦኂᆖ. The place they aspired to go to after
death was called either the west, the kingdom of peace and repose ‫ڜ‬塄,
or the kingdom of infinite life ྤၦኂഏ. Only very rarely did devotees
refer to an image of Amitābha, the Amitābha scripture, or the pure
land of Amitābha. It seems that a major part of the appeal to devotees
of Amitābha was the notion of “infinite life”. This aspect of the cult
resonated with the common search for long life in China dating back
to the Han in connection with the yearning to become a “transcendent”
(xianʳ ‫)ט‬.79 Of course people of the Han dynasty pursued long life in
this world; it was only after the entrance of Buddhism that devotees
began to accept death and turn their attention to the pursuit of hap-
piness in life after death.80
Further, there is often a gap between the description of Amitābha
in scriptures and the understanding of Amitābha by devotees, and in
particular by commoners. For example, judging by image inscriptions,
devotees in the Sichuan region who hoped to be reborn in the western
paradise often made images not of Amitāyus but of Śākyamuni, while
77
See the second entry among four for the image created for the Wanfosi ᆄ۵‫ڝ‬
in Chengdu for the fifth year of the Datong era of the Liang (533), the “Yi Wenxuan
zaoxiang tiji,” in Long Xianzhao, Ba Shu fojiao beiwen jicheng, pp. 3–4, 5.
78
See Tanaka, The dawn of Chinese pure land Buddhist doctrine, pp. 16–17.
79
Ying-shih Yü, “Life and immortality in the mind of Han China,” Harvard Jour-
nal of Asiatic Studies 25 (1964–65), 87–120; Du Zhengsheng, “Cong meishou dao
changsheng—Zhongguo gudai shengming guannian de zhuanbian,” Bulletin of the
Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica 66.2 (1995), 383–484.
80
For more detail on this change, see Hou, Wu, liu shiji beifang minzhong fojiao
xinyang, pp. 80–85, 154–162.
those who did make images of Amitāyus only ask that the deceased
“ascend to heaven” and not specifically to the western paradise.81 These
phenomena are not limited to Sichuan, but are also commonly seen
in the north, demonstrating that devotees did not base their beliefs
entirely on Buddhist scripture, but rather organized their devotion on
the basis of personal preferences.
In the north it was as late as the beginning of the 5th century before
the cult of Amitābha appears. In 402, Kumārajīva (344–414) in Chang’an
translated the Amitābha scripture. At the same time, the Scripture of
infinite life circulated widely. Examples of copies of the Scripture of
infinite life dated to 415 and 471 were among the manuscripts discov-
ered at Dunhuang,82 all of which indicates the appearance of devotees
to Amitābha. Kumarajīva’s disciples such as Sengrui ቖⷠʳ and Tanjian
ᖣᦹ all wrote vows “to be reborn in the kingdom of peace and repose.”83
And monks living in Pingcheng ؓৄ also prayed to be reborn in that
kingdom.84 In addition to copying scriptures related to Amitābha,
images of Amitāyus appeared very early on. An inscription reading
“Amitāyus-buddha” above an image in niche 6 cave 169 of the Binglingsi
caves ੢ᨋ‫ڝ‬ʳ at Yongjing ‫ة‬壃ʳ in Gansu is dated to 420.85
For the northern region as a whole, however, the influence of the
Amitābha cult in the 5th century was quite limited. It was only in the
6th century that the influence of the cult solidified and slowly expanded.
After the Eastern Wei moved the capital to Yecheng ᙋৄ, Yecheng
became a center for the Amitābha cult. Many famous monks hoped to
be reborn in the western paradise. By the Northern Qi the scene was
described as “all rushing to the west.”86 This may have been the result
81
For instance, the image made by the monk Fahai ऄ௧ʳ in the third year of the
Tianjian era of the Liang (504). See Chengdushi wenwu kaogu gongzuodui, “Chengdushi
Xi’anlu Nanchao shike zaoxiang qingli jianbao,” Wenwu 1998.11, 4–20, especially 10,
16. Also, the Faguang ऄ٠ image of the fifth year of the Datong era of the Liang (533);
see Yuan Shuguang, “Sichuansheng wenwuguan Wanfosi shike,” p. 30.
82
See Hirokawa Takatoshi, “Jōdo sanbukyō,” in Makita Tairyō and Fukui Fumimasa,
eds, Tonkō to Chūgoku bukkyō (Tokyo, 1984), p. 106.
83
Gaoseng zhuan 6, “Biography of Sengrui,” p. 245; 7 “Biography of Tanjian,”
p. 273.
84
For instance Huirong ᐝዊ, who died in Pingcheng in 444, asked to be reborn in
the kingdom of peace and repose. See Gaoseng zhuan 11, “Biography of Huirong,” p. 413.
85
Gansusheng wenwu gongzuodui, Binglingsi wenwu guanlisuo, Zhongguo shiku—
Yongjing Binglingsi (Beijing, 1989), illustrations 21, 28.
86
See Mochizuki, Shina jōdō kyōrishi, pp. 63–69; Wang Qing, Wei Jin Nanbeichao
shiqi de fojiao xinyang yu shenhua, pp. 61–62.
1122 hou xudong
of Bodhirucci arriving at the Northern Wei capital at Luoyang and,

through Tanluan ᖣᩂ, proselytizing in the north.87
Changes in the making of images of Amitābha augment the picture
painted by textual sources. In the 110 years before 510, of the 217
Buddhist images that are extant, only three were of Amitāyus. The cult
of Amitābha existed, but it was not very popular. After 510 and up to
the end of the Northern Dynasties, images of Amitābha became more
common, disclosing the increasing popularity of the cult. But even at
the close of the Northern Dynasties, images of Amitābha made up at
most only 4.5 percent of all Buddhist images, and only 2.4 percent of all
images of Amitābha for the early medieval period—hardly comparable
with images of Śākyamuni, Maitreya, or Guanyin, and attracting far
fewer devotees, even as the cult grew. In sum, while the Amitābha cult
did exist from early on, it was extremely small. And while its influence
as a focus of devotion and image creation gradually grew, at the end
of the Northern Dynasties period Amitābha still attracted few devotees
and was not a prominent force.
According to extant sources, the Amitābha cult was clearly regional,
with distinctive chronological developments in different regions. After
the Northern Wei moved the capital to Luoyang, it became an impor-
tant region for the spread of the cult.88 From the Northern Wei on, the
Dingzhou ࡳ‫ ڠ‬region—that is the area in the northern part of the
Huabei ဎ‫ ק‬plains and the eastern foothills of Mt. Taihang ֜۩ʳ in
Shandong—produced images of various buddhas with great fervor,
but the creation of images of Amitābha did not occur until after the
Northern Qi, and was much smaller in scale than images of Maitreya or
Śākyamuni,89 indicating that devotion to Amitābha appeared relatively
late in this region.
In addition, just as among devotees in the south, northern devotees
in general referred to the buddha as Amitāyus. It was only after 530
that they began to use the term Amitābha. Some devotees, not real-
87
There are different opinions on this point. Tanaka argues that Tanluan’s primary
influence was on his monastery and the surrounding area. See Tanaka, The dawn of
Chinese pure land Buddhist doctrine, pp. 18–19.
88
Among the 10 images of Amitāyus made in the north during the period 510–39,
eight came from Longmen in Luoyang. See Mizuno et al., Ryūmon sekkutsu no kenkyū,
appended chronologies 1 and 2; Tsukamoto, Shina bukkyōshi, pp. 581–84; Hou, Wu,
liu shiji beifang minzhong fojiao xinyang, pp. 115–16.
89
See Li Jingjie, Tian Jun, “Dingzhou xi baishi foxiang yanjiu,” Gugong bowuyuan
yuankan 1999.3, 66–84, especially 77.
izing that these are two names for the same buddha, even thought that
Amitābha and Amitāyus were two different figures. Hence in some
inscriptions we see both terms used on the same stele.90 Further, before
550 devotees made only Amitāyus or Amitābha images, making no
mention of attendants, even though the images themselves often take
the form of one buddha and two attendant bodhisattvas. Only after
550 does the triad of Amitābha with two attendant bodhisattvas
appear. And only after 560 did devotees specify images as depicting
“endless life (Amitābha), Guanshiyin (Avalokitēśvara), and Dashizhi
(Mahāsthāmaprāpta)”, also known as the “three holy ones of the west”.
Apparently, in the early period devotees focused only on the central
deity, paying little attention to attendants. Only later did they focus
more attention on the existence and function of attendants, at first
not understanding the names of the attendants. The precise names of
Amitābha’s attendants became known only later, along with the term
“three holy ones of the west”. Thus it was only after the cult of Amitābha
had taken shape that the concept of the three holy ones of the west
appeared, in approximately the 560s. This concept appeared much later
than the spread of a triad of Buddhist deities, reflecting the fact that
images and inscriptions do not necessarily develop in tandem.91
In conjunction with the Amitābha cult and the creation of images
of Amitāyus, belief in the western pure land was especially popular
among devotees in the north. Vows to be reborn in the western pure
land were common continuously from their appearance in the 470s
to the end of the Northern Dynasties, and were especially popular in
the 530s. In some cases, even before devotees were familiar with the
Amitābha cult, they already aspired to be reborn in the western pure
land. Moreover, belief in this land was very widespread, whether among
commoners, officials, or monks.
There is also variation in the time in which the cult took hold in
various regions. Based on the evidence, the cult first appeared in the
Pingcheng region, and slightly later in Pingzhou ؓ‫ ڠ‬and Youzhou
৩‫ڠ‬, that is, the northern and central part of present-day Hebei. All the
90
For instance the Foshisi ۵㦍‫ ڝ‬image of the third year of the Wuping era (572)
of the Northern Qi, unearthed in Jun county, Henan. See Zhou Dao and Lü Pin,
“Henan Junxian zaoxiangbei diaochaji,” Wenwu 1965.3, 31–38; 33. The two are treated
separately in Tibet (Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, p. 240). Here, however, dividing
the two seems to be an interpretation by local devotees.
91
Hou, Wu, liu shiji beifang minzhong fojiao xinyang, p. 116.
1124 hou xudong
way to the end of the Northern Dynasties, pure land belief as reflected
in vows in inscriptions continued to be popular in this region. At
the latest, at the beginning of the 6th century vows to be born in the
western pure land gradually became popular in the Luoyang region,
when inscriptions on images at Longmen began to include vows to be
reborn in the western pure land. Subsequently, in Luoyang and the
surrounding Gong district ᕁᗼ, there was no shortage of devotees who
believed in the western pure land, all the way to the end of the Northern
Dynasties. Nor did the influence of this belief decline in the Sui and
Tang periods. After the 520s, in Shandong and Shaanxi, images with
inscriptions vowing rebirth in the west began to appear. Belief in the
western paradise spread to Shanxi even later, in the 540s.
Devotees referred to the western pure land by various terms, but
usually as the “western kingdom of marvelous bliss” ֱ۫‫ݎ‬ᑗഏՒ,
the “western world of marvelous bliss” ֱ۫‫ݎ‬ᑗ‫੺׈‬, or the “western
world of supreme bliss” ֱ۫ᄕᑗ‫੺׈‬. Only a minority referred to the
paradise as the “western kingdom of Amitābha-buddha” ֱ۫ॳᚦॲ۵
ഏ, the “kingdom of the buddha of infinite life” ֱ۫ྤၦኂ۵ഏ, or the
“kingdom of peaceful repose” ‫ڜ‬塄ഏՒ. Evidently, devotees focused on
the marvelous world in the west rather than on the deity who presided
there. There are in addition a few examples in which the paradise is
referred to directly as “the west”; perhaps it was the direction of the
pure land that was most appealing.92
It should be noted that for most of the period before the close of
the Northern Dynasties, for most devotees, worship of Amitāyus (or
Amitābha) was not related to the desire to be reborn in the pure land.
Devotion to other buddhas and bodhisattvas could equally help one
after death to be reborn in the western paradise. It was only in the 570s
that the two began to be more commonly linked, but even at this time
the joining of the two was still not a dominant trend. We have to wait
until the Sui-Tang period before the cult of Amitābha and belief in the
western paradise became intertwined.93 This is another example of the
gap between Buddhist scripture and actual practice.
92
Ibid., pp. 181–82, 186.
93
In the 110 years after the appearance of the first image of Amitāyus in the 460s,
a total of 31 images of Amitāyus were made: of 92 inscriptions that include vows to
be born in the western pure land, three images of Amitāyus include such inscriptions.
After the 570s, eight images of Amitāyus or Amitābha contain vows to be reborn in the
west. But most inscriptions from this period that contain such vows are not related to
images of Amitāyus. See Hou, Wu, liu shiji beifang minzhong fojiao xinyang, p. 99.
The Vairocana cult

The buddha Vairocana appears in the Flower adornment scripture
(Huayan jing ဎᣤᆖ), in which he is said to be the “reward body” of
the Buddha.94 Analysis of images of Vairocana reveals that the Vairocana
cult began to circulate after 530. After this time, the ratio of images of
Vairocana gradually increased, revealing the expanding influence of the
cult. Nonetheless, at the peak of its popularity, 570–79, only 7 percent
of Buddhist images were of Vairocana. His impact cannot compare with
that of Guanyin, Śākyamuni, or Maitreya, and he cannot be considered
a major focus of veneration for the period.
Commoners began to make images of Vairocana in the later period
of the Northern Dynasties, with the greatest concentration in the period
550–79. During this 30-year span, the percentage of Vairocana images
made by commoners gradually increased, but did not surpass 7.8 per-
cent even at its peak, indicating that the influence of the Vairocana cult
among commoners was limited. There is only one example of an image
of Vairocana commissioned by an official. Apparently, there were very
few devotees of Vairocana among this group.
The first images of Vairocana commissioned by monks and nuns
are from 535, but in the ten years that followed there are no examples,
suggesting the limited influence of the cult during this period. From
570–79, of the eleven images made by monks and nuns, four are of
Vairocana, a percentage of 36.3, revealing the extent of his influence.
In the Northern Dynasties as a whole, images of Vairocana made by
monks and nuns make up only 5 percent. While the influence of the cult
cannot be termed great, in the last 20 years of the Northern Dynasties,
the Vairocana cult among monastics should not be ignored as Vairocana
was, for them, an important focus of veneration.
Geographically, images with clearly designated regions are mostly
distributed in present-day Shandong. We occasionally see examples
from present-day Henan and Shaanxi. There are no examples from
Shanxi or northern Hebei (Dingzhou).95 In other words, it seems to
have been a regional cult.
The creation and veneration of images of Vairocana was related to
the propagation of the Flower adornment scripture, the Fanwang jing,
94
On Vairocana in the Flower adornment scripture, see Ren Jiyu, ed., Zhongguo fojiaoshi,
3 vols (Beijing, 1988), 3.200–02. Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, pp. 129–48.
95
See Li Jingjie et al., “Dingzhou xi baishi foxiang yanjiu,” pp. 77, 80.
1126 hou xudong
and miracle stories about the Flower adornment scripture. Vairocana

appears in the “Vairocana-buddha chapter” in the second fascicle of the
“old” translation of the Flower adornment scripture as well as in the last
fascicle of the Fanwang jing. Many monks during the Northern Dynas-
ties chanted the Flower adornment scripture.96 Most of these monks were
active in the area around the capital at Yecheng (present-day Cixian
጖ᗼ in Hebei) under the Eastern Wei and the Northern Qi.97 The Fan-
wang jing, one of the most important Mahayana scriptures, composed
in China at the end of the 5th century,98 makes repeated reference to
Vairocana, and was circulated widely in the north. Hence, monks were
very familiar with Vairocana.
The Flower adornment scripture, packed with abstruse doctrines, is
extremely long. Most devotees chanted only a portion of it. At the end
of the Northern Dynasties, the “Stanzas in praise of the Flower adorn-
ment” appeared, containing the lines: “The merit of Vairocana-buddha
is unimpeded. Supreme among all that is auspicious, he once entered
this chamber, and for this reason this is an auspicious site.” Part of the
stanzas derived from the Flower adornment, but the verse in praise of
Vairocana is not recorded in the scripture. It very likely derives from the
teachings of Sengchou ቖᆈ, either directly or through his disciples.99 The
point of the verse is to promote the merit of Vairocana. The meditation
master Sengchou was a central figure of great fame in the Northern Qi,
so it is natural that a verse he composed would spread far and wide. The
poem is not long and it rhymes, making it easy to recite. It was very
likely seen as a substitute for chanting the Flower adornment and, if this
conjecture is accurate, then this verse was directly related to the spread
of the Vairocana cult. Moreover, legends about the Flower adornment
spread widely in the north of China. Both of these phenomena were
closely linked to the spread of the Vairocana cult.
96
Xu gaoseng zhuan 8, pp. 484b, 483c–484a, c; 9, pp. 498a–b; 7, p. 480b; 9, p. 495c;
see also Kamata Shigeo, Chūgoku kegon shisōshi no kenkyū (1965; repr. Tokyo, 1978),
pp. 19–33.
97
See Li Jingjie, “Lushena fajie tuxiang yanjiu,” in Fojiao wenhua zengkan (Beijing,
1999), pp. 1–51; 28.
98
Paul Groner, “The Fan-wang ching and monastic discipline,” in Robert E. Buswell,
Jr., ed., Chinese Buddhist apocrypha (Honolulu. 1990), pp. 251–90, especially 280.
99
Yan Juanying, “Bei Qi Nanhai shiku yu Sengchou,” in Shi Hengqing ed., Fojiao
sixiang de chuancheng yu fazhan: Yinshun daoshi jiuzhi huadan zhushou wenji (Taibei,
1995), pp. 561–98, especially 584–85.
In the latter part of the Southern Dynasties, monks in the south

increasingly studied the Flower adornment,100 but we find few examples
of devotees worshipping Vairocana.
The Guanyin cult

Guanyin (Avalokitēśvara), also known as Guanshiyin ᨠ‫׈‬ଃ, is one of
the most commonly venerated bodhisattvas in China. Information about
Guanyin appeared in 25 different scriptures during the Six Dynasties
period. Among these, the Lotus scripture, and in particular the “uni-
versal gate” chapter of the Lotus scripture was enormously influential,
followed in importance by scriptures related to Amitābha such as the
Scripture of infinite life and the Scripture of meditation on infinite life.
The Lotus scripture was first translated into Chinese by the Western
Jin monk Zhu Fahu ाऄᥨ. Kumarajīva did another translation at the
beginning of the 5th century. Before the 5th century the Guanshiyin
scripture circulated independently for ease of recitation (“Guanshiyin
scripture” normally referred to the “universal gate” chapter extracted
from the Lotus scripture).101 In the Amitābha scriptures, Guanyin is an
attendant to Amitābha, leading the faithful to be reborn in the western
pure land. For the most part it was the “universal gate” that led devotees
to venerate Guanyin.102
The Guanyin cult represented by the Universal Gate chapter has three
main characteristics: universal salvation, the ease with which one can
be saved from difficulties, and the appearance of Guanyin in different
forms to preach the Dharma.103 Moreover, unlike Śākyamuni or Mai-
treya, Guanyin is a compassionate savior from adversity in this life.104
100
Tang Yongtong, Han Wei liang Jin Nanbeichao fojiao shi (1938; repr. Beijing,
1997), pp. 543, 549, 630–31.
101
See Zhou Yiliang, “Guanshiyin jing,” in his Wei Jin Nanbeichao shi zhaji (Beijing,
1985), pp. 114–15; according to the fourth fascicle of the Chu sanzang jiji (p. 128),
“Xin ji xuzhuan shi yi zajing lu,” the scriptures Guangshiyin jing ٠‫׈‬ଃᆖʳ and the
Guanshiyin jing ᨠ‫׈‬ଃᆖʳ in one fascicle each were extracted, respectively from the
Zheng fahua jing ‫إ‬ऄဎᆖʳand the Xin fahuaʳᄅऄဎ, and circulated independently.
The former was also known as the Guangshiyin pumen pin.
102
Li Yumin, “Nanbeichao Guanshiyin zaoxiang kao,” in Xing Yitian, ed., Zhongshiji
yiqian de diqu wenhua, zongjiao yu yishu (Taibei, 2002), pp. 240–49, especially 244.
103
See Sun Changwu, Zhongguo wenxue zhong de Weimo yu Guanyin (repr. Tianjin,
2005), pp. 65–66.
104
Tsukamoto, Shina bukkyōshi, p. 580, points this out.
1128 hou xudong
It was precisely these qualities and the practical function of Guanyin

that inspired hope among devotees confronted with various sorts of
difficulties in their everyday lives: they hoped their problems would be
resolved through the miraculous powers of Guanyin. In addition, the
Universal Gate chapter also states: “If there is a woman seeking a boy, if
she venerates and makes offerings to the bodhisattva Guanshiyin, then
she will give birth to a happy and intelligent boy; if she seeks a girl,
then she will give birth to an upright and attractive girl.” This state-
ment, in particular the notion that one could pray to Guanyin for the
birth of a son, was very appealing in a Chinese society in which, after
the Han, patriarchy achieved ever greater importance, and emphasis
was increasingly placed on producing male heirs.105
One of the most notable characteristics of the Guanyin cult are the
stories about the power of Guanyin that circulated in society. Three
collections of tales of Guanyin’s miracles compiled by authors from
the Southern Dynasties and extant today record miracles performed by
Guanyin in various regions.106 Many stories of Guanyin circulated in the
north as well, but the tales in the south were collected and propagated
as books.107 The Tang-era monk Daoxuan ሐ৙ in his Further biogra-
phies of eminent monks ᥛ೏ቖႚʳrecorded some such stories and noted
the existence in the north of the Accounts of the miracles of Guanyin,108
apparently a small book containing stories relating to Guanyin. There
is a total of 122 accounts of Guanyin miracles from the Six Dynasties
that are extant.109 The main characters in many of these stories are
105
On the development of this concept during the early medieval period, see Hou
Xudong, “Han Wei Liuchao fuxi yishi de chengzhang yu ‘zongzu’ wenti—cong Beichao
baixing de juju zhuangkuang shuoqi,” Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan lishi yanjiusuo xue-
kan 3 (2004), 205–35, included in Hou Xudong, Beichao cunmin de shenghuo shijie:
chaoting, zhouxian yu cunli (Beijing, 2005), pp. 60–107.
106
Three Chinese collections of Guanyin miracle tales were preserved in Japan:
Guangshiyin yingyan ji ٠‫׈‬ଃᚨ᧭ಖʳ by the Liu-Song figure Fu Liang ແॽ, Xu
Guangshiyin yingyan ji ᥛ٠‫׈‬ଃᚨ᧭ಖ by Zhang Yan ്ዝ, also of the Liu-Song,
and Xi Guanshiyin yingyan ji ߓᨠ‫׈‬ଃᚨ᧭ಖʳ by the Southern Qi era figure Lu
Gao ຬࣱ. These have recently been edited by Dong Zhiqiao, Guanshiyin yingyan ji
san zhong: yizhu (Nanjing, 2002).
107
Li Yumin provides some examples. See her “Hebei zaoqi de fojiao zaoxiang—
Shiliuguo Bei Wei shiqi,” Gugong xueshu jikan 11.4 (1994), 231–61; p. 31. These exam-
ples come from the three collections of Guanyin tales listed in the previous note.
108
Xu gaoseng zhuan 25, “Biography of Fali” ऄԺ, p. 645c, records four instances
at the end of the Northern Wei in which Guanyin’s name is called out in times of
difficulty, at the same time mentioning this book.
109
Li Yumin, “Nanbeichao Guanshiyin zaoxiang kao,” p. 249.
monks, including some famous monks, such as Zhu Fayi ाऄᆠ and
Zhu Fachun ाऄొ, who have entries in the Biographies of eminent
monks. Protagonists also include prominent commoners and officials,
such as the famous literatus Zhang Chang ്ዃ of Wu prefecture,110
the Liu-Song official Wang Xuanmo ‫᠂خ׆‬,111 and Wang Yan ‫⓭׆‬,
compiler of the Mingxiang jiʳ ଭ壁ಖ. Many more recount the experi-
ences of ordinary commoners, including starving peasants, merchants,
fishermen, hunters, prisoners of war, convicts, and bandits.
The main motivation for editing these stories and reproducing them
as collections was to propagate the power of Guanyin and inspire belief
in their readers. In some cases the books were intended to provide
direct support for the Guanyin scripture. The contents of the Record of
miracle tales related to Guanshiyin ߓᨠ‫׈‬ଃᚨ᧭ಖʳby the Southern Qi
figure Lu Gao, for instance, are arranged according to the narrative of
the Universal Gate chapter, and when monks lectured on the Guanshi-
yin scripture, they relied heavily on these stories.112 These stories had a
profound impact on the birth and spread of the Guanyin cult. At the
same time, through these stories one can sense the scope and fervor of
the Guanyin cult,113 a cult that took more than one form. Some chanted
Guanyin’s name, or chanted the Guanyin scripture, while others made
images of Guanyin for worship.
In the latter part of the Northern Dynasties, the influence of the
Guanshiyin scripture grew steadily. The monk Gonghui ‫“ ڃפ‬became
a monk at the age of six. His beloved parents orally taught him the
Guanyin scripture.” By the end of the Zhou and the beginning of the Sui,
“all children could chant it.”114 In addition, people often engraved the
110
Dong Zhiqiao, ed., Xi Guanshiyin yingyan ji, entry 34, pp. 128–29.
111
Songshu 16 “Biography of Wang Xuanmo,” p. 1974. During the Yuanjia era of
the Liu-Song, Wang Xuanmo led an attack against the Northern Wei, lost, and was
sentenced to death. Later, in a dream he was told that if he would recite the Guanshiyin
scripture one thousand times he could avoid death. When he awoke, he recited the
scripture one thousand times. The following day, right up to the moment before the
execution was to be carried out he continued to recite, when suddenly the order came
down for a pardon. On Wang Xuanmo’s devotion to Guanyin, see Makita Tairyō,
“Rikuchōjin no Kannon shinkō,” in his Chūgoku bukkyōshi kenkyū, 3 vols (Tokyo,
1981–89), 1.196–208.
112
Zhiyi ཕ㑎, Guanyin yishu ᨠଃᆠงʳA, cites a legend about one Zhu Changshu
ा९င, T 1728, vol. 34, p. 923c.
113
See Robert Campany, “The real presence,” History of Religion 32.3 (1993), 233–72;
Yü, Kuan-yin, pp. 158–84, 193–94.
114
Xu gaoseng zhuan 13, p. 528c; 28, “Biography of Huigong” ൏ஐ, p. 686c.
1130 hou xudong
Guanshiyin scripture in stone.115 And when devotees copied scriptures,

they often chose the Guanshiyin scripture.116 As the Guanshiyin scripture
spread widely, the doctrines it contains naturally became well known
and respected, to the extent that many indigenous scriptures related
to Guanyin appeared and circulated, including the famous Scripture of
the high king Guanshiyin ೏‫׆‬ᨠ‫׈‬ଃᆖ.117
Devotees of Guanshiyin also sought the protection of Guanshiyin
through the making of images. There are quite a few examples of this
type of image-making in the north. These allow us to understand the
general trends in the Guanyin cult in the north. In general, images of
Guanshiyin were produced steadily over the 100-year period between
470 and the end of the Northern Dynasties. This was the main period
of popularity for this type of image. In the 70 years previous, there is
only one example of a Guanyin image. In influence and in terms of
the percentage of images of Guanyin in image production overall, from
470 to the end of the Northern Dynasties, throughout the period, ten
percent of all images made by devotees were of Guanyin.
Comparing the involvement of commoners, officials, and monastics
in the creation of Guanyin images, we notice that commoners began
to make images of Guanyin decades before officials or monastics, and
115
The image by Zhilang ‫ݳ‬ிʳon the ninth day of the ninth month of the sixth year
of Wuding (548) (in present-day Pingding, Shanxi) has inscribed on it the Guanyin
scripture. See Beijing tushuguan jinshizu, ed., Beijing tushuguan cang Zhongguo lidai
shike taben huibian, 100 vols (Zhenghou, 1989), 6.149 (hereafter, Tapian huibian);
the Universal Gate chapter of the Lotus sutra ‫ݎ‬ऄᓊဎᆖᨠ‫׈‬ଃཏ॰঴ร֥
؄ is inscribed on the stele made on the tenth day of the second month of the tenth
year of the Tianbao era (559) erected by Li Ronggui ‫ޕ‬ዊ၆ and his brothers in Hui
district, Henan. See Beijing Lu Xun bowuguan, Lu Xun jijiao shike shougao, 18 vols,
(Shanghai, 1987), case 2, 3.697–704. A Lotus scripture was inscribed, along with, pre-
sumably, the Universal Gate chapter on the stele made by 37 people including Zong
Cisun ࡲს୪ in the year 551. See Beijing Lu Xun bowuguan, Lu Xun jijiao shike
shougao, case 2, 3.560.
116
Huang Zheng and Wu Wei, eds, Dunhuang yuanwen ji (Changsha, 1995), p. 812:
in the vow by Yin Bo ձं from the third year of the Xiaochang era of the Northern
Wei (527), after writing 40 copies of the Guanshiyin scripture, he says he “donates these
to various monasteries to be recited.”
117
For details, see Li Yanshou, Bei shi 30 “Biography of Lu Jingyu” ᗝནᇛ appended
to the biography of Lu Tong ᗝ‫( ٵ‬Beijing, 1974), p. 1099. This scripture is included in
the inscription of the image by Du Wenya ‫֮ޙ‬ႁ of the eighth year of the Wuding
era (550) of the Eastern Wei, in Beijing Lu Xun bowuguan, Lu Xun jijiao shike shougao,
in case 2, 2.478–79. A copy of this scripture is included among the Dunhuang manu-
scripts; see P 3920h, included in T 2898, vol. 85, p. 1425. There is also a version of
this scripture among the stone inscriptions at Fangshan ࢪ՞. For recent analysis, see
Chün-Fang Yü, Kuan-yin, pp. 110–18.
continued the practice for decades longer. Overall, commoners and

monastics were more fervent devotees of Guanyin than officials, again
demonstrating clear distinctions in the focus of devotion for the three
different groups.
On the images, most devotees referred to the deity as Guanshiyin,
and only very rarely as Guanshiyin bodhisattva. Others wrote Guang-
shiyin ٠‫׈‬ଃ. There are also more than 20 examples of the use of the
name Guanyin. The earliest such example appeared in the eighth year
of the Taihe era (484). Shortening the name Guanshiyin to Guanyin
did not begin, as some have suggested, with the reign of Taizong in
the Tang.118
Most of those who made images of Guanyin were individuals. In some
instances lineages or families made images, but there are few cases of
devotional societies making images of Guanyin, indicating that Guanyin
was most popular with individuals or with families. The majority of
the extant images of Guanyin are small stone or bronze images of 20
centimeters or less. In cave sites, most of the images are in small niches.
This fits with the fact that most Guanyin images were commissioned
by commoners or monastics. It was only from the mid-6th century
that we have some inscriptions from communities that made images
of Guanyin.119
Images of Guanyin are spread throughout the north, indicating that
the Guanyin cult was not confined to one area, but was instead widely
spread. That being said, worship of Guanyin appeared relatively late
in the northwest, and was less common there. In the Hebei region,
we have a steady stream of examples of the manufacture of Guanyin
images from the 470s to the 570s.120
In the south, the worship of Guanyin was equally prevalent, and
devotees of Guanyin employed the same methods to win Guanyin’s
support. The Liang dynasty era monk Sengmin ቖᲂ followed the model
of the Eastern Jin era monk Dao’an by having his listeners first “chant
the Guanyin scripture once through” before he would lecture on it. This
technique was popular among his audiences and was imitated widely,
118
Hou, Wu, liu shiji beifang minzhong fojiao xinyang, pp. 111–13.
119
Ibid., p. 113; Li Yumin, “Nanbeichao Guanshiyin zaoxiang kao,” pp. 256–57.
120
See Li Yumin, “Hebei zaoqi de fojiao zaoxiang Shiliu guo Bei Wei shiqi,” pp.
31–32; Li Yumin, “Nanbeichao Guanshiyin zaoxiang kao,” pp. 280–81; Feng Hejun,
Quyang baishi zaoxiang yanjiu, pp. 58–70.
1132 hou xudong
becoming a standard practice.121 Audiences responded to Sengmin’s

insistence on chanting the Guanyin scripture and propagated it widely.
Of course this practice could only succeed in an environment in which
the Guanyin scripture was widely circulated and well known to devotees.
There was, in other words, already very fertile ground for the long-term
process of the integration of the Guanyin cult in the south.
The founder of the Qi dynasty, Xiao Daocheng ᘕሐ‫ګ‬, in the final
years of the Liu-Song wrote out the Universal Gate chapter of the Lotus
scripture, a copy of which was taken to Turfan where it survived to this
day.122 The chances of a manuscript of this type being transmitted from
the south to the remote northern site of Turfan in Xinjiang are very
slight, suggesting that there must have been many more of this type
of manuscript at the time. Xiao Daocheng’s grandson, Xiao Ziliang,
Prince of Jingling under the Qi, once copied out the Guanyin scripture
in one fascicle. And Xiao Ziliang’s son also copied out the Scripture of
request to Guanyin ᓮᨠ‫׈‬ଃᆖʳ in one fascicle.123 The precise contents
of this last scripture are not clear, but it was no doubt related to the
Guanyin cult.
The Liu-Song era monk Sengbao ቖ૓ saw six bandits captured on
the street. He spoke to them of the Dharma and encouraged them to
recite the name of Guanyin. As their situation was desperate, the ban-
dits sincerely chanted Guanyin’s name. Consequently, before long the
prison guards set to guard them got drunk and allowed their prisoners
to escape.124 At the same time during the Liu-Song, there was a Bud-
dhist devotee named Shao Xin ३ॾʳ from Wu commandery ‫ܦ‬ಷ. A
fervent Buddhist, he suffered from typhoid fever and no one dared to
see him. In his misery, he called upon Guanyin. Immediately thereafter,
a monk arrived and gave him some medicine which promptly cured
him.125 Such stories promoted the miraculous efficacy of chanting the
name of Guanyin, a practice very important in the Guanyin cult.
Similarly, many devotees of Guanyin chose to make offerings to a
Guanyin image. During the Liu-Song, the monk Tanying ᖣᗩ had
121
Xu gaoseng zhuan 5, “Biography of Sengmin,” p. 463b.
122
Ikeda On, Chūgoku kodai shahon shikigo shōroku (Tokyo, 1990), p. 91.
123
Chu sanzang jiji 12 “Zishu jing mulu” ۞஼ᆖ‫ؾ‬ᙕ, from “Qi taizai Jingling
Wenxuan wang faji lu”; “Qi Jingling wang shizi fujun Baling wang faji lu,” “Zixie jing
mulu” ۞ᐊᆖ‫ؾ‬ᙕ, pp. 454, 457.
124
Gaoseng zhuan 7, “Biography of Sengbao,” pp. 271–72.
125
Gaoseng zhuan 10, “Biography of Beidu” ࣦ৫, p. 383.
long been ill until one day he determined to “remain in a room con-
stantly making offerings to an image of Guanyin, making obeisance
day and night” and praying that he would be cured.126 During the Qi,
the literatus Wang Yan ‫ ⓭׆‬long made offerings to a golden image of
Guanyin, and even brought it from Jiaozhi ٌᯋ (northern Vietnam)
to the capital at Jiankang. Later he lost the image, but then recovered
it. It was this incident that inspired him to compose the Mingxiang ji
ଭ壁ಖ.127 A monastery in Chengdu still preserves a bronze image of
Guanyin from the Liang dynasty.128 At the time there must have been
many such images.129 Today, few images of Guanyin from the south
are preserved. This may be because most of the images were made with
copper and so were melted down for cash.130
Stories also circulated of families who only produced sons after
devoutly chanting the Guanyin scripture.131 In response, devotees began
to pray to Guanyin for sons.132 This naturally increased the utility of
Guanyin in the eyes of devotees. Later the iconography of “Guanyin
deliverer of sons” was an outgrowth of this belief.
In addition to the relatively influential cults discussed above, during

the Six Dynasties there were also devotees of the seven buddhas, the
thousand buddhas, the buddha of the east, Akṣobhya (Achufo ॳ吅۵)
Mahābhijñā-jñānābhibhū-buddha (Datongzhishengfo Օຏཕ໏۵),
and Samantabhadra bodhisattva (Puxian pusa ཏᔃဆ៳࿛), etc. As
the cults for these figures were limited, I do not discuss them in detail
here.
In the preceding I have attempted to provide an overview of the
most influential cults of the Six Dynasties. From the perspective of
126
Gaoseng zhuan 13, “Biography of Tanying,” p. 511.
127
Preface to the Mingxiang ji, in Fayuan zhulin 17, p. 411a–b, though it mistakenly
gives Song Yan “‫⓭”ݚ‬.
128
Image by Chen Qingzhiʳຫᐜհʳof the 16th year of the Tianjian era of the Liang
(517). See Gao Wen et al., Sichuan lidai beike, p. 84.
129
See the preface to the Mingxiang ji: Fayuan zhulin 17, pp. 411a–b.
130
The preface to the Mingxiang ji notes that during the Liu-Song era “the people
competed to manufacture cash, with some stealing golden images to fill the forge.”
Fayuan zhulin, 17, p. 411a.
131
Mingxiang ji, entries for Sun Daode ୪ሐᐚ and Bian Yuezhi ֔ஙհ; Fayuan
zhulin, 17, p. 410a; 53, p. 678b.
132
For example the experiences of Zhenguan టᨠ and of the parents of Jingzhi
ᙩհ: Xu gaoseng zhuan 30, p. 701c; 20, p. 601c–02a.
1134 hou xudong
the devotees themselves, it is important to note that many devotees

expressed devotion to more than one buddha or bodhisattva, making
offerings to two or more buddhas or bodhisattvas. This was true not
only for ordinary devotees, but even for erudite monks. The Northern
Wei Yungang caves preserve the inscription of a female Buddhist devo-
tee who at the same time made images of Śākyamuni and Maitreya for
her deceased husband, son, and daughter.133 The images discovered in
Sichuan made by the monk Xuansong ‫خ‬ვ of the Southern Qi dynasty
includes both an image of Amitāyus and Maitreya.134 He was apparently
devoted to both buddhas at the same time. In the north two images
were discovered by a Northern Wei monk named Tanren ᖣٚ, one of
Guanshiyin and another of Prabūtaratna and Śākyamuni.135 Although
both cults derived from the Lotus scripture, there is no real connection
between them. Yet to Tanren both merited veneration. Tanren is an
obscure monk, but the method he used to seek personal blessings—
making images of different Buddhist deities—was no different from
that of officials of much higher status.
Member of the Northern Qi imperial family Gao Rui ೏ⷠʳ (534–69)
on the same day made images of four different Buddhist deities for the
benefit of a number of his deceased relatives. For a deceased paternal
uncle and a cousin, he commissioned an image of Śākyamuni; for his
deceased parents, an image of Amitāyus; for his deceased sister and
mother, an image of Maitreya; and for himself and his wife, he made
an image of Akṣobhya.136 In the inscriptions, Gao Rui simply notes who
the images were made for. He does not explain the circumstances or
state vows. It is hence difficult for us to conjecture as to his motivation.
However, that he venerated more than one buddha is clear. In fact,
this phenomenon is not confined to ordinary monks and laymen with
a limited understanding of Buddhist doctrine. We often find that even
the most erudite monks were devoted to more than one buddha. The
eminent Chen dynasty monk Huisi ᐝ৸ʳ (515–577) of Mount Heng
ᘝ՞, after dreaming that Maitreya and Amitābha delivered sermons
133
Mizuno Seiichi and Nagahiro Toshio, Unkō sekkutsu: seireki goseiki ni okeru Chū-
goku hokubu bukkyō kutsuin no kō kogakuteki chō sa hō koku, 33 vols (Kyoto, 1951–57),
9.45. Yan Wenru, Yungang shiku yanjiu (Guilin, 2003), p. 105.
134
Gao Wen, Sichuan lidai beike, p. 83; Yuan Shuguang, “Sichuan Maowen Nan Qi
Yongming zaoxiangbei ji youguan wenti,” Wenwu 1992.2, 67–71, especially 69, 70.
135
Jin, Zhongguo lidai jinian foxiang tudian, plates 101, 102 and p. 468.
136
Liu Jianhua, “Bei Qi Zhaojun Wang Gaorui zaoxiang ji xiangguan wenti,” Wenwu
1999.8, 66–77.
to him, made images of both buddhas and made offerings to them.137

These examples are from both north and south and include devotees
of diverse backgrounds, ranging from commoners to monks and offi-
cials. We cannot say that they are particularly representative, but they
do at least reflect the practice of devotion to multiple deities among
Chinese devotees.
There are more extreme examples. Some devotees venerated both
Buddhist and Daoist deities. During the Six Dynasties, this practice was
especially common in the north in the Guanzhong ᣂխʳregion (central
Shaanxi). In this region, in which Buddhism and Daoism were both
common, many Daoist believers made Daoist images, but there were
also devotees of both Buddhism and Daoism. In 512 (the first year of
the Yanchang era of the Northern Wei) Zhu Qi ‫ ࡛ڹ‬and his brothers
made a stele for their parents, with Buddhist images on the front, back,
and left side of the stele, but with a niche on the lower part of the right
side containing Daoist imagery, including an image of the deified Laozi
(Laojun ‫)ܩ۔‬. In other cases, as some members of a family were devoted
to Buddhism, while others were Daoists, the family covered both when
making an image. We see something similar in the images by the Liu
Tian lineage Ꮵ‫ּض‬, or the 100 members of the Ru ಀּ lineage.138 This
phenomenon is not limited to the Six Dynasties and eventually became
an important characteristic of Chinese religion in general.
To summarize, in the north, according to texts and images made
400–580, there was a great variety of objects of devotion. Moreover, the
spread and popularity of different cults varied over time. The cults to
Śākyamuni, Maitreya, and Guanyin lasted the longest. The Maitreya cult
appeared already at the beginning of the Northern Dynasties, but by the
end of the Northern Dynasties was no longer popular. The Guanyin cult
was consistently popular, while the Prabūtaratna cult was only popular
for a time at the end of the 5th century and then began to decline.
The Vairocana cult rose up as a new form of worship at the end of the
Northern Dynasties. Although the Amitābha cult existed sporadically
from early on, it was only at the end of the Northern Dynasties that it
began to flourish. The concept of the three holy ones of the west only
137
Xu gaoseng zhuan 17 “Biography of Huisi,” p. 562c.
138
See Li Song, “Jing Wei liuyu Bei Wei zhi Suidai daojiao zaoxiang diaoke xiang
shu,” in his Chang’an yishu yu zongjiao wenming (Beijing, 2002), pp. 372–73, 380–81,
384–86. See also Wong, Chinese steles, pp. 105–20, and, in volume one, the chapter
by Zhang Xunliao.
1136 hou xudong
gradually took shape from the 560s on, and then with only a slight
influence. The Pensive bodhisattva cult also began to spread in the later
years of the Northern Dynasties, but its influence was concentrated in
the Hebei region. Chronologically, the 520s and 530s was a turning
point for the history of many cults. During this period, the Vairocana
and Pensive bodhisattva cults arose and the Amitābha cult gradually
grew, while the Maitreya cult went into decline.
Turning to social background, the Śākyamuni and Maitreya cults
were especially popular among officials and monks, with relatively few
supporters among commoners. The creation of and devotion to Guanyin
images was not very popular among officials, but extremely popular
among monks and commoners. Images of Prabūtaratna were popular
among commoners and monastics, but very rare for officials. The Vai-
rocana cult was popular for the most part among monks and nuns.
Geographically, the Śākyamuni and Maitreya cults were popular in
Luoyang, Guanyin throughout north China, and Vairocana in present-
day Shandong. In the south, from the latter part of the 4th century, the
Maitreya and Amitābha cults were popular, with many images made
to both in many different regions right to the end of the Southern
Dynasties. During the Southern Qi period, the Dharma assemblies of
the dragon-flower which were popular at court arose from the Maitreya
cult. These activities later spread among the common people, though
they disappeared at court. The Guanyin cult was popular throughout
the Southern Dynasties, and was especially attractive to commoners.
In addition, Prabūtaratna also had some followers. At the end of the
Northern Dynasties, the Vairocana cult appeared, but it had only a
very small impact in the south, and we do not have evidence for its
existence there in the historical record.
In general, when examining the reasons for changes in devotion, we
should consider three major factors. First is the proselytizing of leading
monks. Many scholars have already noted this aspect of the history of
devotion for the period. For instance, the spread of the Maitreya cult
cannot be separated from the major efforts at proselytizing by Dao’an
and Faxian.139 The rise of the Amitābha cult owes something to the
many monks who lectured on the Amitābha scriptures and vowed to be
reborn in his pure land.140 In some regions in the north, the appearance
139
140
Hou, Wu, liu shiji beifang minzhong fojiao xinyang, pp. 141–42.
of the Vairocana cult was linked to the gradual spread of the Flower
adornment scripture among monks and especially to the influence of
Sengchou. Second, doctrinal differences also influenced the rise and fall
of different types of devotion. An important reason for the continued
popularity of the Guanyin cult was the prevalence of Guanyin in Bud-
dhist scripture, and the idea that one could overcome difficulties simply
by reciting Guanyin’s name. The reason for the rise of the Maitreya cult
and for its eventual decline was also tied to the belief that the time at
which Maitreya was to come among us and achieve buddhahood was
thought to be in the distant future, while one could hope to be reborn
in the pure land of Amitābha immediately after death. And when
Guanyin became an attendant to Amitābha, this too helped Amitābha
to win more devotees. Finally, long-standing psychological patterns
among devotees in China also played an important role. Chinese
commoners desperately longed for an external force that could lead
them quickly to deliverance, and for this reason devoted themselves
to the practices of making images, copying scriptures, and worshiping
them, as well as chanting the names of buddhas and bodhisattvas—
simple, direct techniques that did not require long-term commitment.
The paradise of Amitābha in the west was especially appealing, while
fewer were attracted to the eastern pure land of Akṣobhya. This was
closely related to the importance that had long been given to the west
in Chinese culture.
The world of devotion in the Six Dynasties period encompasses the
pursuits of Chinese Buddhist devotees in the initial period after Bud-
dhism first entered China. This pursuit was constantly changing, and
the buddhas and bodhisattvas at the center of their devotion changed as
well. Of the four bodhisattvas that later became popular, only Guanyin
won widespread support among devotees during the Six Dynasties
period. Only literati fond of the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa scripture venerated
Mañjuśrī (Wenshu ֮௘); we find no evidence of the impact of Mañjuśrī
on ordinary devotees. Only a few monks and laymen expressed devotion
for Samantabhadra (Puxian ཏᔃ), making images of Samantabhadra,
holding 21-day fasts for him, or seeing him in visions.141 Scriptures
141
Gaoseng zhuan 7, “Biography of Sengbao” ቖ૓, “Biography of Daowen” ሐᄵ,
pp. 271, 288; 8, “Biography of Huiji” ᐝഗ, p. 324; 12, “Biography of Daojiong” ሐ
ᬋ, “Biography of Puming” ཏࣔ, pp. 462, 464; Xu gaoseng zhuan 6, “Biography of
Sengqian” ቖᔢ, p. 476a.
1138 hou xudong
related to Kṣitigarbha (Dizang ‫ )៲چ‬appeared relatively late, so that

we find virtually no evidence of his influence before the Sui.142 And
Maitreya, so popular in this period, later evolved into Reverend Budai,
whose social position was considered to be very low.
Conceptions of buddhas and bodhisattvas among

some groups of devotees
Owing to the limitations of our sources, the preceding can only reveal a
general picture of certain popular cults. We can only catch a few glimpses
of more specific expressions of devotion. Fortunately, our sources do
provide some information that allows for a deeper understanding of the
world of devotion for a few Buddhist devotees. Their understanding of
Buddhist doctrine varies widely, disclosing the complexity of Buddhist
belief during the Six Dynasties period.
The description of the Buddha in the Mouzi lihuo lun ‫ۋ‬՗෻༝ᓵʳ
reflects the view of many devotees up to the Eastern Jin (mid-4th
century)143 when it says:
The word “buddha” is a posthumous title, like calling the three sovereigns
“divine” or the five emperors “sage”. Buddha is the original ancestor of
the power of the Way, our ancestral link to spiritual understanding. The
word “buddha” means awakened. Shadowy and indistinct, by transforma-
tions in different bodies and varied forms, [he appears in diverse realms].
Sometimes he is present, sometimes absent. He can be small or large,
heavenly or earthly, old or young, hidden or manifest. He can walk on
142
Zhuang Mingxing, Zhongguo zhonggu de Dizang xinyang, pp. 46, 169.
143
The date of composition of the Lihuo lun has been the subject of much debate.
There are basically four opinions: 1. It was composed between the Eastern Han and
the middle of the Three Kingdoms period by Mouzi; 2. It was composed after the
Eastern Jin while falsely claiming to be by a Han author; 3. The preface and the text
itself were written at different times. The preface and a part of the text were written
between the 2nd and early 3rd century by Mou Guang ‫ۋ‬ᐖ. The Buddhist content
was later added at the end of the 3rd century or in the 4th; 4. It was composed dur-
ing the Liu-Song period. Much of the relevant research is collected in Zhang Mantao,
ed., Sishi er zhangjing yu Mouzi Lihuo lun kaobian, Xiandai fojiao xueshu congkan 11
(Taibei, 1978). For the fourth theory, see Tan Shibao, “Mouzi Lihuo lun zhuannian
xintan”, in his Han Tang Foshi tanzhen (Guangzhou, 1991), pp. 294–314, especially
313–14. The latest research argues that it was written some time between the end of
the Han-Three Kingdoms period and the middle of the Eastern Jin. See Li Xiaorong,
Hongming ji Guang hongming ji lunshu gao (Chengdu, 2005), p. 29. Here I adopt Li
Xiaorong’s position.
fire without being burned, tread on swords without being hurt, be mired
in the mud without being defiled, encounter misfortune without injury.
When he wants to travel, he flies through the air. When he sits, he emits
light. This is what the title “buddha” means.144
Even though the author recognized that “buddha” means “enlighten-
ment”, he mentions this only in passing; the author was much more
attracted to the magical powers the Buddha exhibited, summarizing
them with the words, “Changing every instant, dividing and dispersing
himself.” Nor did he hesitate to explain further with a list of concrete
abilities to emphasize the various external transformations of the Bud-
dha, all the while ignoring the cultivation inherent in the preceding
remark that “buddha” means “awakened”. Rather than conveying an
image of an awakened one, the author’s description instead depicts
the Buddha as something closer to the “magician” ( fangshi ֱՓ) or
“divine man” (shenrenʳ壀Գ) of Chinese writings. Some of the magicians
mentioned in Fan Ye’s ૃᖢʳ History of the Later Han ৵ዧ஼ʳ possess
similar qualities. Fei Changfang ၄९ࢪ could divide himself so that
in a single day people thousands of miles apart could see him. Xie
Nugu ᇞ؉ၙ and Zhang Diao ്ှ could make themselves invisible
and pass through walls. Xie Nugu could change the shape of objects to
confuse others.145 At the end of the Cao-Wei, Ruan Ji ߼ᤄ (?–263) in
his “Biography of master Great Man” (“Daren xiansheng zhuan” ՕԳ
٣‫س‬ႚ) describes the “great man” as someone who can “disperse and
coalesce, his form not fixed.”146 This too is similar to the description
of the Buddha in the Lihuo lun.147 We can say that the Buddha in the
Lihuo lun is modeled on the Chinese understanding of the magician.
He appears to be a magician from the western regions. Old wine in
a new bottle, this image must have been very appealing to people at
the time. This kind of understanding continued to develop within the
structure of the Chinese tradition of the “esoteric arts” ( fangshu ֱ๬).
Although this is often taken as a characteristic of Han dynasty Bud-
dhism, in fact among ordinary devotees this conception of the Buddha
continued for much longer.
144
The translation is from John P. Keenan, How Master Mou removes our doubts: a
reader-response study and translation of the Mou-tzu Li-huo lun (Albany, 1994), p. 64.
145
Fan Ye, Hou Hanshu 82B.2745 and 2749, “Fangshu liezhuan” (Beijing, 1973).
146
Ruan Ji, Ruan Ji ji jiaozhu, Chen Bojun, ed. (Beijing, 1987), p. 165.
147
Tang Yongtong, Han Wei liang Jin Nanbeichao fojiao shi, p. 103, made this
point, though Tang’s contention that the Lihuo lun was completed at the end of the
Han is problematic.
1140 hou xudong
The understanding of the Buddha by the Eastern Jin figure Yuan

Hong ಒ‫( ݛ‬328–76) similarly included many elements of the esoteric
arts. In the Chronicle of the Later Han (Hou Hanji ৵ዧધ) he writes:
Fotuʳ௬ളʳmeans “buddha” ۵. In India ֚ा in the western regions, there
is the Way of the Buddha. In Chinese, “buddha” means “awakening”,
which he uses to enlighten all beings. His teaching centers on the cultiva-
tion of goodness, compassion, and not killing. They devote themselves to
purity . . . And so they value practicing the good and cultivating the Way,
doing nothing but cultivate the spirit, until through non action (wuwei)
they achieve buddhahood. A buddha is one zhang six chi tall, golden in
color, with the light of the sun and moon shining behind his head. He
can change without limit and there is no place he cannot enter. Thus he
can convert all the ten thousand things and deliver all beings.148
Compared to the Lihuo lun, Yuan Hong’s understanding of “buddha” is
more complex. First, “buddha” is a technique for leading beings from
delusion to enlightenment. Second, buddha is a realm or state of mind,
arrived at through personal cultivation. Finally, a buddha is a divine
being with immeasurable powers, capable of delivering all beings.
For Yuan Hong, “buddha” is a complex of meanings that includes the
recently emergent discourse over the buddha nature, but it had still
not shed itself of the traces of the traditional Chinese notion of the
master of esoteric arts. Clearly, Yuan Hong was not concerned whether
these different interpretations of the concept were coherent, and not
contradictory.
The understanding of “buddha” by the author of the Lihuo lun and
Yuan Hong was limited. Both of their conceptions of “buddha” were
colored by traditional Chinese notions of divine beings. This concep-
tion must have had a receptive market. However, for erudite monks
versed in Buddhist doctrine, even if their understanding of Buddhist
doctrine could not emerge entirely from the shadow of “dark learning”
(xuanxue), they still had a different understanding of “buddha”. Zhi
Dun, a contemporary of Yuan Hong, is one example.149
The Eastern Jin era monk Zhi Dun was a representative figure of the
Jise lineage ‫ࡲۥܛ‬ʳin the study of prajñā. At the same time, he was active
in the discourse of “dark learning”, having close ties to the dark learn-
ing literati Yin Hao ௚௯, Xu Xun ๺ᇬ, and Wang Qia ‫׆‬੓. Sources
148
Yuan Hong, Hou Hanji, Zhang Lie ed. (Beijing, 2002), j. 10, p. 186.
149
According to Gaoseng zhuan 4, “Biography of Zhi Dun,” p. 163, after Zhi Dun’s
death Yuan Hong wrote his epitaph.
preserve evidence not only of his important contributions to Buddhist

exegesis, but also contain valuable information about his discussion of
Buddhist devotion, allowing us to understand the devotional world of
a mid-4th century southern monk. It is difficult to determine just how
representative Zhi Dun’s views are, but they are undoubtedly useful for
understanding the complexities of Buddhist belief at that time.150
Fascicle 15 of the Tang monk Daoxuan’s Guang hongming ji, contains
Zhi Dun’s “Paean to an image of Śākyamuni” ᤩ૫֮۵ቝᢥ, “Paean to
an image of Amitābha-buddha” ॳᚦॲ۵ቝᢥ, and eleven poems in
praise of bodhisattvas. These poems reveal his understanding of and
devotion to buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Zhi Dun was very clear on the lineages of the buddhas of past, present,
and future. In his “Paean to an image of Śākyamuni-buddha”, he writes
that Śākyamuni “carried on a lineage of six buddhas,” demonstrating
that he understood that Śākyamuni was not the only buddha, but rather
the latest following after six previous buddhas. He was also very clear
on the details of the life of Śākyamuni, including his birth, his departure
from his home, his period of cultivation, enlightenment, sermons, and
eventual nirvana, all of which are meticulously described in the poem.
Zhi Dun also has a clear understanding of the age in which Śākyamuni
lived. A thousand years separated Zhi Dun from the time of Śākyamuni’s
nirvana, and in the poem Zhi Dun writes: “It happened a thousand years
ago, Jetavana ચ੘ is in ruins, the jade tree is overgrown, the Way is
lost, and the people have died ሐໜԳՋ. The time has passed.”151 Here
he used the decay of the Jetavana garden and the overgrowth of the
bodhi tree as metaphors for the decline of the Dharma (the “Way”)
that the Buddha preached.
At the same time, Zhi Dun was also certain that there would be a man
named Maitreya who would become a buddha. In his “Paean to Mai-
treya” ᚦ೬ᢥ, he writes: “Śākyamuni ascended into the dark tranquility
৩ၳ, Maitreya assumes the divine level ࢭ壀ร,” clearly explaining that
after Śākyamuni entered nirvana, Maitreya will be the next to assume
his position. In other words, Maitreya is the buddha of the future. The
150
For an assessment of Zhi Dun’s thought, see Kamata Shigeo, Chūgoku bukkyōshi,
vol. 2: Juyīki no bukkyō (Tokyo, 1983), pp. 119–48, in which Kamata briefly discusses
Zhi Dun’s pure land thought. For a discussion of the relationship between Zhi Dun’s
thought and dark learning, see chapter 4, “Shiton to Chūgoku shisō” of Tamaki Kōshirō,
Chūgoku bukkyō shisō no keisei, vol. 1 (Tokyo, 1971), pp. 165–259.
151
“Shijiawenfo xiang zan,” in Guang hongming ji 15, p. 196a.
1142 hou xudong
poem roughly outlines as well Maitreya’s life, for instance the sermons
he delivers in Tuṣita heaven and the sermons he will deliver at the
assemblies beneath the dragon-flower tree after his nirvana, noting that,
“after completing 49 cycles ( jiʳધ), he will be destined ᚨሎ to come to
this jade [garden]. Displaying the 32 gestures ৎ, with light reflecting in
the flowered grove, he will endlessly turn the mysterious wheel ‫خ‬ᔚ.”
This shows that Zhi Dun believed that after 49 cycles, Maitreya would
descend to the flowered grove to speak on the Dharma.
However, neither the six buddhas of the past nor Śākyamuni or the
buddha of the future, Maitreya, attracted Zhi Dun’s prayers and devo-
tion. This was perhaps because they were all too distant from the present
for him. Śākyamuni had entered nirvana a thousand years previous,
and the six buddhas before him were even farther away. Rather the
“Paean for an image of Śākyamuni” expresses Zhi Dun’s regret at being
unable to see or venerate Śākyamuni. One could say that Śākyamuni is
more a focus of admiration for Zhi Dun than he is an object of wor-
ship. For Maitreya “the turning of 49 cycles” is required. The standard
understanding of a cycle is only twelve years in which case 49 cycles is
either 588 or 924 years.152 Ji was also used for as much as 1500 years,
49 cycles of which would be 73,500 years. Compared to the fifty-six
hundred million years of the Guan Mile pusa shangsheng doushuai
tian jing ᨠᚦ೬ဆ៳Ղ‫س‬೧෷֚ᆖ, even this is short, but compared
to the lifespan of a human being, it is still a vast stretch of time and
unattainable. It was instead Amitābha-buddha in the west, who could
be approached right now, that inspired Zhi Dun.
Zhi Dun remarked after reading one Buddhist scripture,
Here in China ‫ڼ‬வ߶ in the latter age of decline,153 those who uphold the
correct precepts of the Buddha and chant the Amitābha scripture, vowing
to be reborn in his kingdom ࢖ഏ with an unwavering and sincere heart,
will when they die, travel in spirit there to see the Buddha, be enlightened,
and achieve the Way.154
152
If we understand qi qi ԮԮ as seven times seven, then 49 × 12 = 588 years. If
we understand it as 77, then 77 × 12 = 924 years.
153
Reading houʳ৵ʳ for wuʳն.
154
There are different opinions on what Buddhist scripture Zhi Dun read. Kamata
Shigeo thinks it was the Amituo guyin shengwang tuoluoni jing ॳᚦॲቔଃᜢ‫׆‬
ॲᢅ‫؍‬ᆖ, but this scripture is “first seen in a Liang era bibliography.” See Kamata,
Chūgoku bukkyōshi, 2.144–45; Liu Changdong thinks that this was Zhi Qian’s ֭ᝐ
translation, the Da Amituo jing Օॳᚦॲᆖ. See Liu Changdong, Jin Tang Mituo
jingtu xinyang yanjiu, p. 14.
He took this as a clear guarantee that devotees after death would be

reborn in the western paradise where they would see the Buddha and
quickly achieve enlightenment. This then is what Zhi Dun devoted
himself to. This kingdom is situated in the west. The buddha there is
called Amitābha, or in Chinese “infinite life” (Wuliangshou ྤၦኂ). In
that kingdom there is no hierarchy. The Buddha is the ruler. The Three
Vehicles are the teaching. Men and women are reborn there inside lotus
blossoms. There is no need for the pollution of pregnancy. The halls
and palaces are all made of seven gems.155
Such descriptions were very appealing to devotees. Since, for Chinese,
Buddhism originated in the west, it is natural that they would give
the west greater importance than other directions. The meaning of
Amitāyus, “infinite life”, guaranteed that a devotee need only piously
offer his or her devotion to be able to constantly see a buddha and would
not, owing to the Buddha’s nirvana, be deprived of the possibility of
seeing a buddha and achieving enlightenment. The threshold for this
pursuit was not high. One only needed to practice Buddhist precepts,
chant the Amitābha scriptures, and sincerely vow to be reborn in the
kingdom of Amitābha without faltering, to be repaid after death. This
was a great comfort to a devotee like Zhi Dun who despaired at not
being able to see Śākyamuni. For this reason, Zhi Dun “galloped to
the divine kingdom”, focusing his devotion on being reborn in the
“kingdom of peace and repose”, and asking craftsmen to “make a mark
of the divine” ቹ‫م‬壀।, so that he could “gaze up at the lofty symbol”
and pray for rebirth in the pure land to see Amitābha-buddha.
An importance difference between Amitābha—whom one can hope to
see, through personal cultivation, after death—and Śākyamuni and Mai-
treya, is that Amitābha exists now. And if devotees submit to him, they
do not need to endure an exceedingly long wait to see him after their
death. This belief satisfied Zhi Dun’s urgent longing to see a buddha.
On this point, there is no major difference between the erudite exegete
Zhi Dun and the ordinary devotee. If there is a difference from the
ordinary devotee, it is that Zhi Dun’s understanding of buddhas is
closer to the description we find in Buddhist scriptures. Not only did
he have a detailed understanding of facts in the lives of Śākyamuni
and Maitreya, he also understood the relationship between buddhas
of the past, present, and future, and, through his belief in Amitābha
155
“Amituofo xiang zan,” in Guang hongming ji 15, pp. 196b–c.
1144 hou xudong
of the west, demonstrated that he accepted the doctrine that buddhas

currently exist in other buddha fields.
However, although at this time Zhi Dun believed in the doctrine
of multiple buddhas, his writings do not clearly indicate knowledge
of the “three bodies” of the buddha: Dharma body, response body,
and reward body. He only notes vaguely that “the superior man acts
according to the moment and stops according to the moment. He may
disappear from one place and appear in another.” “The superior man
is capable of complete transformation, his traces diminishing with
time. We speak provisionally of nirvana, which means bidding farewell
and going backʳߢ‫ូߢܫ‬.”156 He continued to use the “superior man”
(zhirenʳ۟Գ) from the Zhuangzi to describe the Buddha, but the actual
content of his understanding went beyond Daoist discourse. He already
realized that the Buddha’s “traces” would disappear, that nirvana is a
provisional construct, and that something would continue to survive.
Although he does not explicitly mention the concept of the “Dharma
body”, this is chiefly a reflection of the level of understanding of the
concept of buddha by 4th-century monks.157
Apart from his “Paean for Maitreya,” in the ten poems Zhi Dun
composed on bodhisattvas, he in fact mentions eleven bodhisattvas.158
In addition to Shansi ࿳৸ʳ and Hanshou ⍽ଈ, the other nine all come
from the Vimalakīrti scripture. This is related to Zhi Dun’s understand-
ing of prajñā and his fondness for dark learning and pure conversation
(qingtanʳ 堚ᓫ). In the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa sūtra, through the debates
between the layman Vimalakīrti and Mañjuśrī and other bodhisattvas,
the Mahayana doctrines of prajñā and emptiness are explained. The
entire format of the scripture centers on concrete problems such as how
a bodhisattva avoids duality. It is very similar to the “pure conversation”
popular at that time and so was very well received. Zhi Dun himself
spoke on the Vimalakīrti many times.159 And his poems on bodhisattvas
156
“Shijiawenfo xiang zan,” in Guang hongming ji 15, p. 196a.
157
The first to discuss the doctrine of the Dharma body in China was Dao’an
(312–85). See his “He Fangguang guangzan sui lüejie xu” ‫࣋ٽ‬٠٠ᢥᙟฃᇞ‫ݧ‬ʳ in
Chu sansang jiji 7.266. Shortly after Zhidun, Huiyuan (334–416) was also attracted to
the doctrine. See his “Foying ming xu” ۵ᐙᎮ‫ݧ‬, in which he starts to explore the
topic. See Guang hongming ji 15, p. 197c. For analysis, see Erik Zürcher, The Buddhist
conquest of China: the spread and adaptation of Buddhism in early medieval China
(Leiden, 1972), pp. 225–29.
158
See Guang hongming ji 15, pp. 197a–b.
159
Gaoseng zhuan 4, p. 161. For details, see Tsukamoto, Shina bukkyōshi, pp. 529–31;
express Zhi Dun’s understanding of the doctrine of the emptiness of

all phenomena,160 rather than his personal devotion.
Zhi Dun’s poems disclose the understanding of “buddha” by a mid-
4th century elite southern monk. Compared to the interpretation of
Yuan Hong or the Lihuo lun, which centered on the Buddha’s magical
powers, Zhi Dun’s interpretation is more profound and broad, despite
the fact that the author of the Lihuo lun, Yuan Hong, and Zhi Dun lived
at more or less the same time. Limited by our sources, we cannot say
that his beliefs were confined to the views in his extant writings, much
less that his views are representative, since we have little to compare
them to. We can only say that they represent the pinnacle of devotion
informed by knowledge of Buddhism at that time.
The three figures discussed above were all from the south. I now turn
to the understanding of Buddhism by northerners in the middle of the
6th century. While we cannot determine that the author of the History
of the Wei ᠿ஼, Wei Shou ᠿ‫( گ‬505–72) was a devout Buddhist, we
can at least say that he was closely affiliated with Buddhist circles.161 In
his “Treatise on Buddhism and Daoism” ᤩ‫ ݳ۔‬in the History of the
Wei, he not only describes the entry of Buddhism into China and the
history of its development in the Han, Jin, and up to the Northern
Wei, he also recounts his understanding of the origins of Buddhism
and its basic doctrines:
The Buddha was originally called Śākyamuni. This can be translated as
“capable and benevolent”, which is to say filled with virtue and capable of
delivering the myriad beings. Before Śākyamuni there were six buddhas.
Śākyamuni followed the example of the six buddhas and himself became
enlightened. He lived in the present kalpa of wisdom (xianjieʳᔃ‫)ܖ‬. The
and his Chūgoku bukkyōtsūshi, vol. 1 (Tokyo, 1978), pp. 346–47; Sun, Zhongguo wenxue
zhong de Weimo yu Guanyin, pp. 88–89.
160
See Fang Litian, “Zhi Dun de fojiao sixiang,” Shijie zongjiao yanjiu 1981.3; in his
Wei Jin Nanbeichao fojiao luncong (Beijing, 1982), p. 33.
161
Wei Shou once attended a sermon on the Shidi lun Լ‫چ‬ᓵʳ by Daochong
ሐᡒ; see Xu gaoseng zhuan 7, p. 482c. He also wrote a “vow for three copies of all of
the scriptures of Qi” ᏘԿຝԫ֊ᆖᣋ֮, in Guang hongming ji 22, p. 257a; the “Zan
sanbao fuye bei” ᢥԿᣪ壂ᄐᅾ of the second year of the Daning era (562), in Tapian
huibian, vol. 7, pp. 113–14; Beijing Lu Xun bowuguan, Lu Xun jijiao shike shougao, case
1, 6.1007–18. Tsukamoto Zenryū demonstrates that Wei Shou was born to a family of
devout Buddhists. See his “Gi Shū to bukkyō,” Tōhō gakuhō 31 (1961), 1–34; 3–7. The
statement in Ren Jiyu, ed., Zhongguo fojiao shi, 3.535–36, that Wei Shou “had from
childhood been in contact with Buddhism and after becoming an official maintained
close ties to the Buddhist world” is a reasonable assessment of his ties to Buddhism.
1146 hou xudong
texts say that in the future there will be one Maitreya buddha who will
follow the example of Śākyamuni and descend to the world.
Here Wei Shou explains the doctrine of the buddhas of the past, present,
and future. He then goes on to concisely narrate the family background
of Śākyamuni along with his birth and the various miraculous events
in his life leading up to his enlightenment, the period of his sermons,
and his nirvana. Wei Shou then writes:
“The Buddhas’ body of the Law” means two things. One is the true body,
the other is that of momentary response. “True” means the ultimate
substance, wondrously surpassing all bonds and impediments, not to be
restricted to place or direction, not to be delimited by form or measure.
When there is a stimulus, it responds, but the substance is ever tranquil.
However, the “body of momentary response” refers to the one that blends
its light with that of the six paths of existence, that shares defilement with
the myriad kinds, whose birth and extinction accord with the times, whose
length or shortness is in response to beings. Its form comes into being
because of a stimulus, but its substance is not truly existent. Although the
temporary form may take its leave, the true substance does not move. It
is only because at times there is no great stimulus that it cannot always
be seen. It is clear that the Buddha’s birth is not a real birth, his death is
not a real death. When the Buddha had already taken leave of the world,
his corpse was burnt in a flame of fragrant wood, and his sacred bones,
both large and small, crumbled to the size of rice kernels. When struck
they would not disintegrate, when kindled they would not scorch. Some
had bright light and miraculous efficacy. In the barbarian tongue they are
called sheli. His disciples gathered them up and placed them in a jeweled
jar. Then, with all due incense and flowers and observation of respect,
they lovingly built them a tabernacle, which they called ta Ⴣ. Ta is also
a barbarian word; it is like a family tomb. Therefore they are commonly
called tamiao Ⴣᐔ. One hundred years later there was a King Aśoka, who
with his supernatural powers distributed the Buddha’s relics. Through the
workmanship of the gods he built eighty-four thousand reliquaries and
thus distributed the relics throughout the world. The reliquaries were all
completed on the same day. Now Luoyang, Pengcheng ༙ৄ, Guzang ࡤ
ፔ, and Linzi ᜯ෥ all have temples named Temple of King Aśoka. These
temples have all adopted his heritage.162
Wei Shou summarizes the concepts of the “Dharma body” and the
“response body”. According to his understanding, if there is a “marvel-
162
Weishu 114.3027–28, “Shilao zhi”; the translation is from Leon Hurvitz, “Treatise
on Buddhism and Taoism,” in Seichi Mizuno and Toshio Nagahiro, Yun-kang: the Bud-
dhist cave-temples of the fifth century A.D. in north China (Kyoto, 1956), pp. 41–42.
ous stimulus” one can see the response body. However, he does not
mention buddhas of other realms like Amitābha or Akṣobhya. Nor does
he mention bodhisattvas, in spite of the fact, as shown above, that at
this time the Guanyin cult was popular in the north, and many devotees
of Amitābha had already appeared. There were also some supporters
of Akṣobhya. Does this oversight reflect Wei Shou’s personal under-
standing of Buddhism? In what follows, Wei Shou provides a detailed
introduction to relics, stupas, and the biography of Aśoka. This was
at the end of the 6th century. Previously, no Chinese Buddhists had
written on the subject so systematically. This is another indication that
the relic cult appeared relatively late in China.
Forms of devotion to buddhas and bodhisattvas
During the Six Dynasties period, Buddhism entered every corner of

court and countryside in north and south. Pious devotees expressed their
devotion to buddhas and bodhisattvas concretely through methods such
as making offerings to scriptures and images or through recitation.
Images
According to Buddhist scriptures, making images and making offerings
to them produces merit which brings benefits to the devotee. There are
different interpretations of what these benefits are. According to some,
the devotee can “ascend to heaven” ‫֚س‬. According to others he can
become a buddha.163 After the period of the Eastern Jin and the Sixteen
Kingdoms, devotees in the north and south increasingly employed these
techniques to express their devotion. A Tang dynasty era monk stated
that during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui (581–605) more than
1,508,940 old images were repaired,164 indicating that before this time at
least some 1,500,000 Buddhist images had been made.165 At that time,
163
Liu Shufen, “Wu zhi liu shiji Huabei xiangcun de fojiao xinyang,” Bulletin of the
Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica 63.3 (1993), 497–544, especially
501–03; Hou Xudong, “Lun Nanbeichao shiqi zaoxiang fengqi chansheng de yuanyin”
discusses reasons for the fashion for making images in the Southern and Northern
dynasties, in Wen shi zhe 1997.5, 60–64, especially 60.
164
Falin, Bianzheng lun 3, “Shidai feng Fo pian” Լ‫࡚ז‬۵ᒧ, T 2110, vol. 52, p. 509b.
165
For discussion of these figures, see Liu Shufen, “Wu zhi liu shiji Huabei xiangcun
de fojiao xinyang,” pp. 499–500.
1148 hou xudong
from the north to the south, the entire population of China was no
more than 8,700,000 households,166 making for one Buddhist image
for every six families, giving some sense of how many devotees made
images during the Six Dynasties.
Buddhist images made by Buddhist devotees during the Six Dynasties
vary in scale, style, and material. The largest are 17 meters in height
(the large buddha in cave 5 at the Yungang caves of the Northern Wei).
In the south there is a seated buddha of 13.23 meters (a stone image
built during the Liang dynasty at Shicheng ‫ڝৄف‬ʳmonastery on Mount
Shan ἓ՞). Small images are usually no more than approximately ten
centimeters. The bronze buddha made in the fifth year of the Heping era
of the Northern Wei (464) is 8.6 centimeters tall. The bronze standing
buddha made in the 13th year of the Taihe era (489) is 11.4 centime-
ters tall.167 In the sixth year of the Zhengguan era (525) the bhikṣuni
Fayao ऄ૞ and others purchased a bronze buddha on a lotus seat that
was 13.9 centimeters in height, weighing 208.5 grams. In the second
year of the Tianping era (535), Zhang Xiaoxing ്՛ᘋ purchased an
image of Guanyin that was 14.4 centimeters tall, weighing 141 grams.168
The average independent buddha image was from ten centimeters to
one meter in height. Image steles are from one to three meters high.169
Texts record bronze buddha images of several meters in height. These
are the so called “one zhang and eight” images (zhangba xiang ՁԶቝ).
Images were made of various substances including stone, bronze, iron,
wood, hemp core, and clay.170
Most images were commissioned from craftsmen or purchased com-
plete (especially in the case of bronze images). In addition to shaping
the images, they were usually “adorned” before they were considered
complete. “Adornment” often included gilding or painting of the image.
In some extant images the gilding has not peeled off completely, allow-
ing us to see the process of adornment.
166
Dong Guodong, Zhongguo renkou shi, vol. 2 Sui Tang Wudai shiqi (Shanghai,
2002), p. 129.
167
Jin Shen, Zhongguo lidai jinian foxiang tudian, p. 21, plate 15, explanation on
p. 438; p. 79, pl. 51, explanation on p. 452.
168
For the two inscriptions, see Li Jingjie, ed., Zhongguo jintong fo, color plates,
pp. 68, 90.
169
Wong, Chinese steles, p. 63.
170
In addition to stone images, ceramic, iron, clay, and wooden images were also
found among the images from Longxing monastery at Qingzhou. See Shandong Qing-
zhoushi bowuguan, “Shandong Qingzhou Longxingsi fojiao zaoxiang jiaocang qingli
jianbao,” Wenwu 1998.2, 4–15, esp. 5–6.
Many of the Buddhist images discovered in the remains of the Long-

xing monastery ᚊᘋ‫ڝ‬ʳ in Qingzhou ॹ‫ ڠ‬have preserved the original
paint or gild. On the bodies and garments of some of the images there
are color paintings of figures and events,171 revealing the beauty of fully
adorned Buddhist images. In the expression “carved and adorned until it
shone” of inscriptions, the word “adorned” may have referred to gilding.
Gilding was even more common for bronze images. This technique is
closely linked to the belief that the Buddha’s body was golden.
Once an image had been sculpted and adorned and its position and
the date of completion determined, the process of making the image was
complete, and it could begin to receive offerings. But between manu-
facture and receiving offerings, some images underwent a ceremony of
“opening the vision” (kaiguang ၲ٠). Hence those involved in making
images at times have titles such as “overseer for opening the vision”
ၲ٠ࣔ‫׌‬ʳ or “overseer for opening the Maitreya image” ၲᚦ೬ቝ‫׌‬.
One inscription notes, for instance, “To open the vision of a marvel-
ous image, who could say this is not good? Who would say it is not
numinous?”172 This shows the purpose for opening the vision of an
image was to invest it with life and spirit. However this ritual may not
have been very common in the Six Dynasties period.173 Most images
were used by devotees as recipients of offerings. Some were also used
in visualization practices.
The position in which these Buddhist images of different scale were
placed differed as well. Small golden or stone images were for the
most part placed indoors. The monk Beidu ࣦ৫ of the early part of
the Liu-Song dynasty once stayed overnight with a family which had a
golden image that the mischievous Beidu then pilfered. The Liu-Song
era monk Tanying ᖣᗩ in his quarters “always made offerings to an
image of Guanshiyin; night and day he made obeisance to it” in order
to cure an illness.174 In the “Biography of Feng Shu” ৞૪ in the History
of the Northern Qi, Feng Shu kept an image to make offerings to it.
When devotees traveled they would at times take an image with them,
171
Ibid., p. 7.
172
The stele made by Du Wenqing ‫֮ޙ‬ᐜ and 20 others in the fifth year of the
Zhengguang era (524). See Tapian huibian, vol. 4, p. 162, Beijing Lu Xun bowuguan,
Lu Xun jijiao shike shougao, case 2, 1.131.
173
Liu Shufen, “Wu zhi liu shiji Huabei xiangcun de fojiao xinyang,” pp. 527–29;
Kieschnick, The impact of Buddhism, pp. 60–62.
174
Gaoseng zhuan 10, “Biography of Beidu,” p. 379; 13 “Biography of Tanying,”
p. 511.
1150 hou xudong
or would keep an image of their own in a monastery.175 Large steles

and images of metal or stone would be placed in streets, by villages,
or outside and inside monasteries.176 And there were as well Buddhist
images of all sizes carved into the cliff face of sites like Yungang and
Longmen.
For a description of precisely how images were worshipped, the most
complete account is the Scripture for the determination of faults and
blessings (Jue zuifu jing ެᆞ壂ᆖ), a Chinese indigenous scripture
completed before the 6th century. The second fascicle of the scripture
mentions four types of offering: “The Buddha provided images so
that people could make obeisance to them, light lamps, burn incense,
and offer up banners and flowers in order to obtain the blessings of
deliverance.”177 Considering this information together with the images
themselves we can better understand how images were worshipped by
devotees during the Six Dynasties. Based on images and inscriptions
we see that worship focused on three basic activities: offerings (incense,
flowers, objects, lamps, and banners), prostration, and vegetarian feasts
(zhaihui សᄎ).
The bases of images often depict censers, naturally a symbol for an
offering of incense. Among the names of members of devotional soci-
eties on steles, the title “overseer of incense” (xianghuo zhu ଉ‫)׌־‬
often appears to mark the person charged with overseeing offerings of
incense. In close to 250 steles made by devotional societies, the term
“incense fire” appears 22 times, and the term “overseer of incense fires”
seven.178 In the portraits of donors on images we often see a standing
donor holding a long-stemmed lotus blossom.179 This of course is the
“offering of fragrant flowers” referred to in the inscriptions. In images
the flower is always a lotus, but in actual practice more than one type
175
Hou Bai, Jingyi ji ඞฆಖ, entry for Sun Jingde ୪ᄃᐚ, quoting from the Tang
work by Daoxuan, Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu ႃ壀‫ڠ‬ԿᣪტຏᙕʳB, T 2106, vol.
52, pp. 420a–b; preface to the Mingxiang ji in Fayuan zhulin 17, p. 411a.
176
Wong, Chinese steles, pp. 63–64.
177
Juezui fujing, T 2868, vol. 85, p. 1331c.
178
See the statistics provided in Hao Chunwen, “Dong Jin Nanbeichao foshe shou-
ling kaolüe,” Beijing Shifan xueyuan xuebao 1991.3, 49–58, p. 58.
179
See for example the Chang Wenyuan ൄ֮᎛ image in Tapian huibian, vol. 3,
p. 121; the image by the monk Huiquan ༡ᇭ at Tapian huibian, vol. 5, p. 96; the image
by Zhao Zhen ᎓஡ in Tapian huibian, vol. 6, p. 183; and the image by Ma Luozi
್੖՗ in Tapian huibian, vol. 8, p. 100.
of flower was used.180 In inscriptions we occasionally see the titles “over-

seer of lamps” (dengzhu ᗉ‫ )׌‬or “overseer of illumination” (dengming
zhu ᗉࣔ‫)׌‬, who were presumably charged with offerings of lamps.181
The expense for making offerings of lamps was probably not high, and
something that even poor devotees could afford.182 Offerings of banners
are not seen in images or inscriptions. The “Zhao Tai” ᎓௠ entry of the
Mingxiang ji states that the family of the deceased “would hang banners
and burn incense in temples and pagodas to seek deliverance from their
sins.” The “Shi Shiguang” ‫׈׾‬٠ entry says that “Shi Shiguang during
his lifetime made an offering of two banners which at that time were
still in the monastery,”183 demonstrating one way in which banners were
used as offerings. Apparently, such banners were not cheap, such that
only the well-to-do could afford to make such offerings.
There seems to have been no specified time when devotees were
expected to make offerings. Inscriptions refer to “constant offerings”,
“seeking offerings from the society at all times without stop.” In some
instances offerings were frequent and in others less so.
In posture, judging by depictions of donors, devotees either stood or
knelt. They knelt with both knees on the mat and body erect. Most donors
are depicted standing. There are also two gestures formed with the
hands. One is with palms pressed together, pointing upwards before the
chest. The other is to fold the hands together across the abdomen inside
ample sleeves. The former gesture is more common. In addition, devo-
tees are often depicted holding a long-stemmed lotus flower with either
one hand or two. In some cases, obeisance was carried out every day.
One monk from the Liu-Song dynasty would in his room “worship an
image of Guanshiyin, making obeisance in the morning and at night.”184
The Southern Qi monk Chaobian ၌᥯ʳ (d. 492), according to one text,
180
See Chen Qingxiang, “Fojiao huagong hanyi ji lishi yuanliu—huaxiang lijing yi
zhu song shou,” in Fojiao sixiang de chuancheng yu fazhan, pp. 503–23.
181
For instance, the inscription in the image by Wang Miaohui ‫ݎ׆‬ᄇ made in
the second year of the Wucheng era (560) contains “overseer of lamps Wang Ashe,
overseer of lamps Yuan Nü” ࿆ࣔ‫ॳ׆׌‬ॐΕ࿆ࣔ‫׌‬ಒՖ. See Wang Chang, Jinshi
cuibian 36 (Beijing, 1985). For discussion, see Lin Pao-yao, “Dong Wei wuding yuan-
nian mingshi zao Shijia wuzun lixiang lüekao—zaoxiang timing yu xiangzhu zun xiang
de goucheng tishi ji qi tushi shixi,” Yishu pinglun 2 (December 1990), 123–24. In the
inscriptions, ࿆ is often given for ᗉ.
182
Lu Gao, Xi Guanshiyin yingyan ji, entry for Pengcheng Yu ༙ৄኋ. See Dong
Zhiqiao, Guanshiyin yingyan ji san zhong: yizhu, p. 194.
183
See Fayuan zhulin 7, 5, pp. 330b–c, 303c–304a.
184
Gaoseng zhuan 13 “Biography of Tanying,” p. 511.
1152 hou xudong
“made obeisance to the thousand buddhas for more than 30 years,

bowing more than 1,500,000 times,”185 giving some indication of the
extent of the devotion of some to the practice of bowing to an image.
The holding of vegetarian feasts was also an important part of offer-
ings to images. Various types of vegetarian feasts, including the “eight
precept fast” (baguan zhaiʳԶᣂស) were very common throughout the
Six Dynasties period in the north and in the south. Originally, the “eight
precept fast” was intended to provide food to monastics, but later it
came to include offerings of food and drink for ordinary devotees. The
“eight precept fast” was a ceremony in which a group of devotees would
uphold the eight Buddhist precepts for one day and one night.186 The
completion of an image was also an important opportunity to hold a
vegetarian fast. In the ninth month of the 22nd year of the Taihe era of
the Northern Wei (498) Prince Beihai ‫ק‬௧‫׆‬, Yuan Xiang ցᇡ, made
an image with an inscription saying, “Now with this Dharma image
completed, we hold a fast,” signaling that a feast was held after the
completion of the image. The titles “overseer of the fast” (zhaizhu ស‫)׌‬
or “overseer of the eight precept fast” often appear in inscriptions.187
These officers were charged with supplying the food needed for the
feasts or for making offerings to monks. The feasts may have been held
once upon the completion of an image or a stupa. In many instances,
devotees would hold ceremonies or feasts at various times surround-
ing an image. But such feasts were expensive. With the exception of a
few very wealthy donors who could pay for such feasts on their own,
185
Gaoseng zhuan 12 “Biography of Chaobian,” p. 471.
186
This ritual later spread from lay people to monastics, and from one day and
night to seven days. See Satomichi Norio, “Chūgoku nanbokuchō-ki nieru hakkansaii
ni tsuite,” Tōyō daigaku daigakuin kiyō 22 (1985), 43–54.
187
For example, the inscription for the three-level stupa made by Daochong ሐ
㢿 in the second year of Xiaochang (526), contains the titles “overseers of the fast,
Liu Qian Ꮵᔢ and Li Sheng ‫ࣙޕ‬.” See Beijing Lu Xun bowuguan, Lu Xun jijiao
shike shougao, case 1, 4.779. The Buddhist stele made by some 50 participants in 529
includes the title “overseer of the great fast Du Jihe” Օស‫ࡉࡱޙ׌‬. See Jin Shen,
Zhongguo lidai jinian foxiang tudian, p. 185. The image made by Lü Shenghuan ‫ࣙܨ‬
ᦟ in the year 541 contains the title “overseer of the eight precept fast Lü Jingwen”
Զᣂស‫ܨ׌‬ན֮. See Beijing Lu Xun bowuguan, Lu Xun jijiao, case 2, 2.297. The
“Li shi heyi” ‫ ߳ٽּޕ‬stele of 542 includes the title “overseer of the eight precepts
and chief controller Li Yuan” Զᣂស‫׌‬ຟഄ߷‫ޕ‬ց. See Tapian huibian, vol. 6,
p. 90; Ōmura Seigai, Shina bijutsushi chōsohen (Tokyo, 1915), p. 260, Beijing Lu Xun
bowuguan, Lu Xun, case 2, 2.317.
in general devotees formed devotional societies (yiyi ߳ᆠ) to sponsor

the feasts collectively.188
Some images of buddhas received offerings for several hundred
years and even over a thousand years. Many Buddhist images at cave
sites have repeatedly been ornamented and painted by devotees. Many
independent Buddhist images from our period were worshipped up to
the Northern Song (960–1126). The Buddhist images from Longxing
monastery in Qingzhou, Shandong, were discovered in a pit that con-
tained images from the Northern Dynasties, Tang, and Song periods
that had been buried together after they had been damaged,189 reveal-
ing that the Buddhist images from the Northern Dynasties were still
receiving offerings in the Northern Song.
It should be noted that for some devotees who practiced medita-
tion, Buddhist images were also used for visualization exercises. The
visualization of a buddha was one technique for achieving a medita-
tive state. In “visualization of a buddha” ( guanfoʳ ᨠ۵) one looks at
an image and contemplates a buddha, or visualizes a part or the whole
of a buddha, gradually entering a state of concentrated absorption. In
this state one can at times see a vision of a buddha—what is termed
in Buddhist scripture “seeing a buddha”. In addition to visualizing
Śākyamuni, devotees also visualized the seven buddhas of the past and
all the buddhas of the ten directions of the past, present, and future.
Buddhist scriptures explain that visualizing a buddha can eliminate bad
karma and elicit all manner of blessings.190
Hence, in order to carry out meditative practices on images, during
the Six Dynasties, some Buddhist devotees made Buddhist images or
opened up caves for images. I earlier mentioned how, in the Eastern
Jin, Huiyuan of Mount Lu gathered together monks and laymen to
make vows to be reborn in the west before an image of Amitābha.
This is an example of a meditative practice based on the visualiza-
tion of Amitābha.191 Buddhist devotees in the north gave even greater
188
See Liu Shufen, “Wu zhi liu shiji Huabei xiangcun de fojiao xinyang,” pp.
529–32.
189
Shandong Qingzhoushi bowuguan, “Shandong Qingzhou Longxingsi Fojiao
zaoxiang jiaocang qingli jianbao,” p. 6.
190
Liu Shufen, “Wu zhi liu shiji Huabei xiangcun de Fojiao xinyang,” p. 503.
191
For analysis, see Tang Yongtong, Han Wei liang Jin Nanbeichao fojiao shi, pp.
261–62; Zürcher, Buddhist conquest, pp. 220–21.
1154 hou xudong
importance to meditation as a means of achieving liberation.192 In

the north many of the Buddhist caves contain meditation chambers,
directly related to the meditation of monks, giving rise to the expres-
sion “opening up a transcendent cave in which meditators can reside.”193
Many of the images in such caves were made to fulfill the needs of
meditation, including images of Śākyamuni, the buddhas of the three
times, the seven buddhas, Maitreya adorned as a bodhisattva, as well
as the Śākyamuni-Prabūtaratna pair, instrumental in the practice of
the lotus samādhi.194
Ordinary Buddhist devotees in the north longed to achieve their goal
of liberation through making Buddhist images and gazing upon them.
One image from the Northern Zhou in the Shaanxi region proclaims,
“We make an image so that those who look upon it will be inspired to
enlightenment and achieve understanding of the characteristics of the
Dharma.”195 The hope was that those who saw a Buddhist image could
achieve enlightenment in the truths of Buddhism and realize liberation.
This concept was popular among Buddhist devotees in the north as an
expression of seeing Buddhist images that differed from the medita-
tive practice of visualization. In the aspirations of these devotees, to
“visualize” was the same as “seeing” in ordinary usage, rather than the
Buddhist meditative exercise of imagining an image with one’s eyes
closed. Seeing did not require a long period of cultivation. A “glimpse”
ԫᗭʳ or “brief sight” ᑉᅯ was enough to realize ultimate liberation,
providing devotees with a simple and convenient path. At the same
time, it should be noted that this interpretation pushed the function
of the image to an extreme, making false claims much easier to make
and paving the way for eventual decline.196
In addition, the number of “auspicious images” and “numinous
images” that existed in various places north and south during the Six
Dynasties period also merit attention. Some thought that this type of
image came from the west, or that once an image exhibited miracu-
lous powers it became the focus of worship for devotees. Such images
192
See Tang Yongtong, Han Wei liang Jin Nanbeichao fojiao shi, pp. 558–62.
193
Gao Yun ೏ւ, “Luyuan fu” ຼ૒ᓿ, in Guang hongming ji 29, p. 339b.
194
Liu Huida, “Bei Wei shiku yu Chan,” pp. 346–47; Kieschnick, The impact of
Buddhism, p. 55.
195
The image made by Xiahou Chuntuo ୙ঀొॲ in the fourth year of the Tianhe
era (569). See Tapian huibian, vol. 8, pp. 140–41, Beijing Lu Xun bowuguan, Lu Xun
jijiao, case 2, 5.983–84.
196
played an important role in the transmission of Buddhism. The Chang-

gan monastery ९ե‫ڝ‬ʳ in the Eastern Jin capital of Jiankang housed a
golden statue. It was said that it came from the western regions and
had been made by Aśoka’s fourth daughter. Buried beneath the ground
for centuries, it emitted an extraordinary light, whereupon it was dis-
covered and worshipped at the Changgan monastery. For this reason,
“it inspired many to enlightenment.” Later this image often exhibited
extraordinary qualities. After the fall of the Chen dynasty it was sent
to Chang’an, where it produced miracles all the way up to the early
Tang. During this period, many copies of the image were made and
widely circulated.197 Already in the Southern Dynasties the “Record
of the golden Aśoka image of Changgan monastery” was written to
recount the image’s miracles.198 During the reign of Emperor Xiaowen
of the Northern Wei (471–99), in Dongping commandery ࣟؓಷ in
Jizhou ᛎ‫( ڠ‬present-day Fan county ૃᗼ in Henan), a “numinous
image” “emitted a sparkling light”, changing to the color of bronze.
The emperor, seeing this as a good opportunity to “promote the mar-
velous Dharma”, promulgated an edict to have the image sent to the
capital at Pingcheng, so that “monastics and lay alike can witness the
face of the true marks.” He further ordered that this event be broadcast
throughout the empire so that all would know of it.199 This miraculous
image was used to spread Buddhism. In the Northern Wei when the
capital was moved to Luoyang, just outside the Pingdeng monastery
ؓ࿛‫ ڝ‬inside the city was a golden image that, it was said, “often exhib-
its divine manifestations”, especially in relation to the fortunes of the
state, frequently acting unusually before an important event. One day,
when the image did something unusual, all in and outside the court
were anxious.200 This image became an extraordinary beacon for the
government. There is no shortage of similar images. The Collection of
auspicious occurrences related to Buddhist images ۵ቝᅗႃ compiled by
a monk at the beginning of the Tang, collects many such stories.201 The
197
For early miracles associated with this image, see Gaoseng zhuan 13, “Biography
of Zhu Huida” ाᐝሒ, p. 478. For the later period, see Fayuan zhulin 13, “Jing Fo
pian, Ganying yuan” ᄃ۵ᒧ·ტᚨᒴ, pp. 384a–b.
198
Chu sanzang jiji 12, “Fayuan zayuan yuanshi ji mulu xu,” p. 487.
199
Weishu 114.3038, “Shi Lao zhi.”
200
Yang Xuanzhi, Luoyang qielan ji 2, “Pingdeng si” ؓ࿛‫ڝ‬, Zhou Zumo, ed.
(Shanghai, 2000), p. 95.
201
See Guang hongming ji 15, pp. 201b–203c.
1156 hou xudong
Fayuan zhulin also includes many tales of this sort, though it of course
no doubt includes many fabrications and exaggerations.202
Copying scriptures
In the Six Dynasties, a period before the advent of printing, the circula-
tion of Buddhist scriptures depended on copying. The vast number of
manuscripts followed many different routes. In simple terms they can be
divided into the three categories: scriptures in monastic libraries, scrip-
tures used in Buddhist ceremonies, and scriptures used for devotion.203
Scriptures used for devotion refers to manuscripts copied by devotees
in order to receive merit for the act of copying. This was an important
component in the devotional activities of devotees.204
Copying scriptures as a means of devotion in order to garner merit
originated in the propagation in Mahayana Buddhism of the idea of
merit-making through copying scripture.205 The “Engaging in merit-
making” ൗ壂ࠃ঴ʳchapter of the version of the Lotus scripture translated
by Fahu ऄᥨ in the Western Jin states: “If one chants and copies this
scripture with joy and faith, he will receive incomparable merit above
all other.”206 The “Preface” to the Ekottarāgama-sūtra (Zengyi ahan
jing, xupin ᏺԫॳܶᆖ͊‫ݧ‬঴) translated in the Eastern Jin states: “If one
copies scriptures and makes offerings of silk and flowers, the merit for
this will be incalculable.”207 The Da fangdeng daji jingʳ Օֱ࿛Օႃᆖʳ
translated in the Northern Liang further states: “After the extinction
of Śākyamuni, wherever this scripture goes, if someone chants and
copies it, even as little as one verse, one line, or one word, [the karma
202
On this point see Kieschnick, The impact of Buddhism, pp. 57–59.
203
Kyodo Jiku divides the Buddhist scriptures of Dunhuang into eight different
types. See “Dunhuang fojiao wenxian de fenlei yu yanjiu fangfa,” in Dunhuang yan-
jiuyuan and Zhongguo Dunhuang Tulufan xuehui, eds, 2000 nian Dunhuang guoji
xueshu taolunhui lunwen tiyao ji (Lanzhou, 2000), p. 144. Zhang Xiantang divides
them into three types: see his “Tang Song Dunhuang shisu fojiao xinyang de leixing,
tezheng,” in Hu Suxin (Sarah Fraser), ed., Fojiao wuzhi wenhua: siyuan caifu yu shisu
gongyang guoji xueshu yantao hui lunwen ji (Shanghai, 2003), p. 298. Here I follow
Zhang’s classification.
204
See Lin Congming, “Cong Dunhuang wenshu kan fojiaotu de zaojing qifu,” in
Hanxue yanjiu zhongxin, ed., Di’erjie Dunhuangxue guoji yantaohui lunwen ji (Taibei,
1991), pp. 521–37.
205
On this point, see Kieschnick, The impact of Buddhism, pp. 164–66.
206
Zheng fahua jing ‫إ‬ऄဎᆖ, T 263, vol. 9, p. 117a.
207
Zengyi ahan jing, T 125, vol. 2, p. 550c.
for] all of the bad deeds committed by the ruler of his kingdom will be
erased.”208 Statements like these stretched the supposed merit of copying
Buddhist scriptures to the limit. Stories of the wondrous power of Bud-
dhist scripture were also common Buddhist lore, describing Buddhist
scriptures unharmed by fire, undamaged by water, or of people punished
for damaging a Buddhist scripture.209 Following on the translation and
circulation of these Buddhist scriptures and the dissemination of these
legends, the notion that one could gain merit from copying scriptures
gradually spread, and the practice of copying scriptures became an
important expression of devotion for Buddhist devotees.
According to accounts and Six Dynasties manuscripts preserved
among the documents at Dunhuang, the practice of copying scriptures
for devotional purposes appeared already during the Sixteen Kingdoms
period.210 During the Southern and Northern dynasties the practice
developed further, and was carried out even by emperors, officials, and
members of the aristocracy, like the first emperor of the Southern Qi,
Xiao Daocheng ᘕሐ‫ ;ګ‬his descendant Prince Jingling, Xiao Ziliang,
and his son; and the uncle of Emperor Xianwen of the Northern Wei,
Feng Xi ႑ዺ. From the emperor of the Northern Qi to ordinary com-
moners, all threw themselves into the task of copying scriptures with
great enthusiasm. Some copied the entire canon. Feng Xi, it is said,
used his own money to have 16 sets of all of the Buddhist scriptures
copied out,211 some of which survive among the Dunhuang docu-
ments.212 The emperor of the Northern Qi also copied out three sets of
the entire canon.213 According to documents composed by a Tang era
author, the Southern Qi emperor Xiao Luan ᘕᩂ also copied out the
entire canon.214 It was more common to copy out several or just one
Buddhist scripture. Xiao Ziliang and his son copied out, respectively,
208
Da fangdeng daji jingʳ (Mahā-vaipulya-mahā-saṃ nipāta-sūtra), T 397, vol. 13,
p. 150a.
209
Mingxiang ji, entries for Xie Fu ᝔ᑆ, Puban da huo ፠߾Օ‫־‬, Dong Ji ᇀ‫ٳ‬,
Song ni Shi Zhitong ‫ᤩ؍ݚ‬ཕຏ. See Fayuan zhulin 18, pp. 418a, 417b–c, 418c.
210
Ikeda, Chūgoku kodai shahon shikigo shōroku, pp. 81–84.
211
Weishu 83.1819, “Biography of Feng Xi.”
212
See Jao Tsung-i, “Bei Wei Feng Xi yu Dunhuang xiejing,” in Xuantang ji A (Hong
Kong, 1982), pp. 421–25.
213
According to Wei Shou, “Qi san bu yiqiejing yuanwen” ᏘԿຝԫ֊ᆖᣋ֮,
in Guang hongming ji 22, p. 257a.
214
Huixiang ༡ᇡ, Hongzan fahua zhuan ‫ؖ‬ᢥऄဎႚʳ 9, T 2067, vol. 51, p. 40c.
1158 hou xudong
17 scriptures in 71 fascicles, and ten scriptures in 20 fascicles.215 The

Southern Qi monk Huijin ᐝၞ vowed to make 100 copies of the Lotus
scripture. And with the support of a group of devotees he assembled, he
finally did fulfill his vow.216 In the fifth year of the Huangxing era of the
Northern Wei (471), Zhang Suozhu ്ⱓ‫׌‬, a resident of Dingzhou ࡳ
‫ڠ‬, made copies of the Lotus scripture, the Scripture of golden light (Jin
guangming jing ८٠ࣔᆖ), the Vimalakīrti, and the Amitāyus scripture.
Parts of these are preserved among the Dunhuang documents.217 In
addition to the Six Dynasties scriptures preserved in Dunhuang, there
are also some manuscripts from the Six Dynasties preserved in Japan.218
By the time of Emperor Wen of the Sui, copying scriptures reached
unprecedented heights. Emperor Wen promulgated an edict ordering
his subjects to donate money according to the size of the population
to copy scriptures and make images. At the same time, officials made
commissioned copies of the Buddhist canon to be placed in a number
of major monasteries. As a result people throughout the empire fol-
lowed the lead from the capital to the extent that among the populace
Buddhist scriptures were said to outnumber the six Confucian classics
by a hundred to one.219
Some manuscripts were copied by devotees themselves, Prince Jing-
ling and his son being an example, but more commonly patrons com-
missioned scribes to copy scriptures. At that time there were scholars
and students who specialized in copying scriptures. Dunhuang manu-
script S 4823 was a copy of juan 1 of the Shidi lun Լ‫چ‬ᓵʳcompleted in
the second year of Zhengguang (521) of the Northern Wei. According
to the colophon, it was copied by “Scholar Li Daoyin”.220 Judging by
colophons to Buddhist scriptures, during the Northern Dynasties there
were many scribes ( jingshengʳᆖ‫ )س‬at Dunhuang.221 There were many
engaged in the same position in the interior as well. During the Chen
215
Chu sanzang jiji 12, “Qi taizai Jingling Wenxuan wang faji lu,” “Zishu jing mulu,”
“Qi Jingling wang shizi fujun Baling wang faji lu,” and “Zixie jing mulu,” pp. 453–54,
456–57.
216
Gaoseng zhuan 12, “Biography of Huijin,” p. 468.
217
P 4506B. See Huang Yongwu, ed., Dunhuang baozang, vol. 133 (Taibei, 1986),
p. 210. For the colophon, see Ikeda, Chūgoku kodai shahon shikigo shōroku, p. 91.
218
The colophons can all be found in Ikeda, Chūgoku kodai shahon shikigo
shōroku.
219
Wei Zheng, Suishu 35, “Jingji zhi,” (Beijing, 1973), p. 1099.
220
Huang, Dunhuang baozang, vol. 38, p. 137; Ikeda, Chūgoku kodai shahon shikigo
shōroku, p. 108.
221
See Ikeda, Chūgoku kodai shahon shikigo shōroku, pp. 101–106.
dynasty there was a famous Buddhist named Yan Gong ᣤஐʳ who
specialized in copying the Lotus scripture in Yangzhou ཆ‫ڠ‬, and who
oversaw “several tens of students”.222
Buddhism also had strict requirements for the method of copying
scriptures. When Fahu translated the Lotus scripture in the Western Jin
there were already such regulations.223 The Scripture of the final admoni-
tions of the Buddha from the golden coffin (Fo zai jinguan shang zhulei
jing ۵‫ڇ‬८ཛྷՂ᧷ีᆖ), an indigenous scripture completed sometime
before the end of the 6th century, has even more detailed regulations to
be observed when copying scriptures, saying for instance that it should
be carried out in a clean room, the ground having been sprinkled with
fragrant water and ornamented with hanging banners. The copier was
to put on clean clothing, having already visited the latrine, bathed,
burnt incense, and paid obeisance. Only then was he to begin to copy.
Only in this way would he derive blessings from the act.224 And in fact
there were those who followed these procedures, including, for example,
Yan Gong mentioned above. The monk Facheng ऄᇨ at the beginning
of the Sui dynasty, when he asked others to copy scriptures, insisted
that they receive the precepts, cultivate themselves purely, rinse their
mouths with fragrant water, and don new clothing before they began
to copy.225 But there were probably not many as observant as this, or
there would have been no need to fabricate a scripture to emphasize
these guidelines for copying scriptures.
The copying of manuscripts extended to sutras, monastic regulations,
and treatises—the “three baskets” of the Buddhist canon. But the most
common scriptures copied as acts of devotion were the most popular
scriptures among devotees such as the Lotus sutra, the Flower adorn-
ment, the Vimalakīrti, and the Scripture of golden light. After being
copied, these scriptures, like Buddhist images, were placed on a table
in a room to receive offerings of incense and obeisance.226
222
Fayuan zhulin 18, p. 419c.
223
Zheng fahua jing, T 263, vol. 9, p. 117a.
224
See Hou Xudong, ed., “Rulai zai jinguan zhulei qingjing zhuangyan jingfu jing,” in
Fang Guangchang, gen. ed., Zangwai fojiao wenxian, series 4 (Beijing, 1998), p. 376.
225
Xu gaoseng zhuan 29 “Biography of Facheng,” p. 689a.
226
The monk Facheng when he copied scriptures would “every day burn incense
and make offerings on the table”; Xu gaoseng zhuan 29, p. 689a.
1160 hou xudong
Devotees normally made vows when making offerings to scriptures or

images.227 One example I have mentioned already a number of times is
Huiyuan, who held a fast and made vows to be reborn in the west before
an image of Amitābha. The content of such vows is usually recorded
in an inscription or in a colophon at the end of a manuscript. The vow
expresses the devotee’s prayer for help from a buddha or bodhisattva to
achieve one of any number of goals. The recipient of the blessings asked
for include ancestors, the devotee him or herself, relatives, and friends.
At times the prayers extend to the emperor, high officials, or even all
creatures of the six paths of existence. The hope was that through the
making of an image or copying of a scripture these beneficiaries could
receive help, after death, to achieve a good reward, release from suf-
fering, ascent to a heaven, rebirth in a pure land, or capacity to see a
buddha. In life they hoped for happiness and security, long life and good
health.228 The vows reveal that devotees saw making images and copying
scriptures as a “mutually beneficial” currency of exchange. In exchange
for devotion to images and scriptures, one could acquire happiness for
oneself and one’s family. This is an extension of traditional Chinese
notions of sacrifice, and not necessarily closely related to devotees’
understanding of buddhas or bodhisattvas. Inscriptions and colophons
to scriptures capture a devotee’s prayer of a particular moment. What
the devotees hoped to achieve later is beyond our grasp.
The reason scriptures and images continued to be objects of devo-
tion are, on the one hand, the success of the concept of Buddhist merit
and, on the other, because devotees believed that sacred objects like
scriptures and images possessed a certain divine power. The Luoyang
qielan ji ੖ၺ‫៴ۺ‬ಖ, when describing the scripture case of the Baima
monastery ‫ ڝ್ػ‬during the Northern Wei, says that devotees would
burn incense before it and that the scripture case would frequently
emit a light that would fill the hall. Subsequently, monks and lay alike
venerated the scripture case as if they were in the presence of the Bud-
dha.229 The need to make offerings to scriptures and images is related
to this belief.230
227
See the events described in Gaoseng zhuan 13, “Biography of Fayue” ऄ㰱, p. 493;
Lu Gao, Xi Guanshiyin yingyan ji, entry for Pengcheng Yu; see Dong, Guanshiyin
yingyan ji san zhong, p. 194.
228
For more detail on these vows, see Hou, Wu, liu shiji beifang minzhong fojiao
xinyang, pp. 150–226.
229
Luoyang qielan ji 4, p. 150.
230
For detailed analysis, see Erik Zürcher, “Buddhist art in medieval China: the
Recitation
Another important devotional practice was recitation. Recitation can
be divided into the two categories of reciting scripture and reciting the
names of buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Two of the scriptures I cited earlier when discussing copying scrip-
tures, the Lotus scripture and the Da fangdeng daji jing, in fact also
say that “reciting the Buddhist scriptures”, just like copying scrip-
tures, brings immeasurable merit. Many Buddhist devotees in the Six
Dynasties took up this injunction tirelessly. The Biographies of eminent
monks and the Further biographies of eminent monks devote chapters
to, respectively, “The gate of chanting scripture” (“Songjing men” ፽
ᆖ॰) and “Reading and chanting” (“Dusong” ᦰ፽ᒧ), in which they
gather biographies of dozens of monks famous for chanting Bud-
dhist scriptures from the Western Jin to the early Tang. When these
accounts give the specific scripture chanted, it is most often the Lotus
scripture, followed in frequency by the Vimalakīrti, the Scripture in
ten stages Լ‫چ‬ᆖ, the Great nirvāna scripture, and the Siyi jing ৸墿ᆖʳ
(Viśeṣacintibrahmapariprcchā). Monks devoted to the western pure
land normally chanted the Amitāyus scripture and the Scripture on the
meditation on infinite life.231 Some chanted the scripture once every
day, some once every two days. Some chanted regularly for more
than 30 years, and some for as long as 60.232 The dynastic histories
also record stories of individual devotees who recited scriptures. The
Zhoushu ࡌ஼ʳ recounts the story of a “filial son” named Zhang Yuan
്ց whose grandfather was blind. He chanted Buddhist scriptures day
and night, praying for blessings for him. Later he recited the Scripture
of the medicine kingʳᢐஃᆖʳ and performed rituals, until eventually his
grandfather recovered his sight.233 Stories like these propagated the
benefits of reciting scriptures, but despite the bountiful merit said to
accrue from recitation, it was not easy to maintain the practice,234 and
clearly ordinary devotees could not in general recite scriptures with
ecclesiastical view,” in K.R. van Kooij and H. van der Veere, eds, Function and meaning
in Buddhist art (Groningen, 1995), pp. 13–14. Kieschnick, The impact of Buddhism,
pp. 57, 69, 172–74.
231
Gaoseng zhuan 11 “Biography of Falin” ऄྱ, p. 437; 12, “Biography of Tanhong”
ᖣ‫ؖ‬, p. 456; Biqiuni zhuan 4, “Biography of Daoguini” ሐ၆‫؍‬, p. 947c.
232
Gaoseng zhuan 12, “Biography of Fahui,” p. 472, “Biography of Senghou,” p. 472.
233
Linghu Defen, Zhoushu 46, “Xiaoyi ‫ݕ‬ᆠ: Zhang Yuan zhuan” (Beijing, 1971),
p. 833.
234
Gaoseng zhuan 12, “Songjing lun” ፽ᆖᓵ, p. 475.
1162 hou xudong
the frequency of monks. However, many devotees of the Six Dynasties

could recite shorter texts like the Guanyin scripture. Miracle tales about
Guanyin contain many stories of devotees who relied on chanting the
Guanyin scripture to obtain relief from suffering.235
In some cases, devotees chanted a scripture with the manuscript
before them, often necessary for long Buddhist scriptures like the Lotus
scripture. In the case of shorter scriptures, like the Guanyin scripture,
many devotees probably recited it from memory. When confronted with
an emergency, one was not likely to have a scripture at hand. In these
cases, references to “reciting the scripture” probably mean reciting it
from memory. These stories all demonstrate that, for devotees, “reciting
scripture” was a very common method of cultivation.
In addition to reciting scriptures, another common method of
recitation was to chant a buddha’s name. The Universal Gate chapter
of the Lotus scripture, when explaining how to receive assistance from
Guanyin bodhisattva, repeatedly states that one need only “with all
one’s heart call on the name of Guanyin bodhisattva” and one will
receive his assistance. Miracles stories about Guanyin during the Six
Dynasties often recount the stories of devotees who call on Guanyin’s
name during a crisis and so are saved.236 As these stories circulated,
they must have encouraged devotees to adopt this method of venerat-
ing Guanyin. Devotees also chanted the names of other buddhas. The
Eastern Jin monk Tanjie ᖣ‫ ݹ‬continuously recited the name of Mai-
treya just before he died.237 From the final years of the Southern and
Northern dynasties, this practice became popular. The monk Chade
Րᐚ, who died in the early Tang, when proselytizing in Guanzhong
ᣂխ, advised the people to take refuge in the Three Jewels, and used
donations given to him to hold “fasts to venerate the buddhas, or to
chant their names.”238 Although there are not many such references in
the literature, as this is a simple technique there must have been many
who practiced it.
235
See Naomi Gentetsu, “Ryō Shin Nanbokuchō no Kanon ōgendan ni okeru jukyō,”
Ōtani shidan 89 (April 1987), 20–38, pp. 27–30.
236
For example, Mingxiang ji, entry for Zhang Chong of the Jin வ്ശ. See Fayuan
zhulin, 65, p. 785b; Xi Guanshiyin yingyan ji, entry for Fali ऄԺ, Fazhi ऄཕ, and Liu
Cheng Ꮵᑢ. See Dong Zhiqiao, Guanshiyin yingyan ji san zhong, pp. 63, 65, 69.
237
Gaoseng zhuan 5, “Biography of Tanjie,” p. 204.
238
Xu gaoseng zhuan 25, “Biography of Chade,” p. 655a.
Reciting the name of a buddha or bodhisattva was originally a very

marginal practice within Buddhism. Much more important was the use
of a name as a part of meditative training for recollecting and visual-
izing a buddha. However, after the Tang the recitation of the name of
a buddha or bodhisattva, in particular the name of Amitābha buddha,
became very popular among devotees. This is closely related to the
Northern Wei era monk Tanluan ᖣᩂ (–542?) who, when preaching
about the pure land, promoted chanting the buddha’s name.239 Later,
Daochuo ሐጶ (562–645) was even more effective in promoting this
practice, encouraging others to recite the name of Amitābha.240 The
promotion of this practice provided the conditions for the spread of
Buddhism and especially for the spread of devotion to the western
pure land.
These three practices were not contradictory, and devotees often
employed more than one at the same time in their search for deliver-
ance. For instance, the devotee of the western pure land, the monk
Huijin, was famous both for reciting the Lotus scripture and for making
100 copies of it.241
The significance of devotion to buddhas

and bodhisattvas
Buddhism played a positive role in a society of ethnic and class divi-

sion and tension. Buddhist devotion penetrated the court and beyond.
As people from different regions and ethnic and social backgrounds
enthusiastically participated in devotional activities like making images,
Buddhist doctrines and practices became a medium of communication
between different segments of the population, providing common inter-
ests for different social strata, and encouraging greater social cohesion
in general.242
In Chinese history, the Six Dynasties was a period of mass move-
ments and integration of ethnic groups. In communities in which Han
and non Han, or diverse non Han groups lived together, Buddhism
helped to erase the lines that divided ethnic groups, encouraging ethnic
239
See Ren Jiyu, ed., Zhongguo fojiao shi, 3.611–15.
240
Xu gaoseng zhuan 20, “Biography of Daochuo,” p. 594a.
241
Gaoseng zhuan 12, “Biography of Huijin,” p. 468.
242
Liu Shufen, “Wu zhi liu shiji Huabei xiangcun de fojiao xinyang,” pp. 536 ff.
1164 hou xudong
integration. At that time, diverse ethnic groups that lived together in

many regions of the north all participated in Buddhist activities. Such
was the case in Guanzhong,243 and elsewhere as well. In the list of
participants on a stele discovered in Yanshi ೘ஃ, Henan, from the
15th day of the second month of the fourth year of the Zhengguang
era (523) of the Northern Wei, made by Di Xingzu ፉᘋల and oth-
ers, we find both Han and non Han names listed as donors. Judging
by the names, most of the participants were Han, but there are also
names that belonged to ethnic groups, such as Yifu Changluo Ԭ‫ؗ‬ဝ
੖, Hedouling Sidiba ઩ߤສউ‫ࢸچ‬, Husi Kangde කཎൈ൓, and Juqu
Xianzun ऊ྄᧩ᙅ. Of these, Hedouling Sidiba was even the “overseer of
the celestial palace” (tiangong zhu ֚୰‫)׌‬, a title within the devotional
society. Among the names on the stele by the Brothers and sisters of
the Dharma society ऄᆠ‫ ࡢࡪݬכ‬in Huangshiya ႓‫ف‬ഺ in Licheng
ᖵৄ, Shandong, completed on the 29th day of the seventh month of
the year 523, in addition to Han names are also participants with non
Han names such as Huyan Fuji ࡅ࢏ٗୣ and Huyan Moxiang ࡅ࢏ᐰ
ଉ. Another example is the stele made by 90 members of a Dharma
society in Linzi ᜯ෥ and Boxing ໑ᘋ on the 17th day of the ninth
month of the third year of the Xiaochang era (527). In addition to Han
devotees, the society also included participants with non Han names
like Xianyu Luojiang ធՊᢅৌ.244 This phenomenon indicates that in
many regions, ethnic boundaries were crossed on the basis of shared
beliefs to form devotional societies dedicated to creating and making
offerings to images. In the course of such activities, divisions between
these groups softened, contributing towards gradual integration. In
this sense then it is not an exaggeration to say that Buddhism contrib-
uted to the integration of ethnic groups. At the same time, Buddhist
devotion was common both within and outside the court, helping to
ameliorate tensions between the upper and lower strata of society in
the realm of belief.
Previously, popular cults like that of the Prince Jing of Chengyang
shrine ৄၺན‫׆‬రʳor the god Lord Baoʳᚁ‫ܩ‬壀ʳrose up in response to an
243
See Ma Changshou, Beiming suojian qian Qin zhi Sui chu de Guanzhong buzu
(Beijing, 1985), pp. 39–88; Liu Shufen, “Wu zhi liu shiji Huabei xiangcun de fojiao
xinyang,” p. 538.
244
The three image inscriptions can be seen in Li Xianqi, “Bei Wei zhengguang
sinian Di Xingzu deng ren zaoxiang bei,” Zhongyuan wenwu 1985.2, 21–26, especially
p. 25; Tapian huibian, 3.147 and 5.67–68.
event or a legend. As they were not supported by texts and did not com-
ply with traditional standards for sacrifice, the state did not recognize
them, instead labeling them as “harmful to the people and disruptive
of order.” They were seen as illegitimate cults (yinsi ෞस), to be rooted
out and eliminated. New cults of this type continuously appeared, and
the state consistently labeled them illegitimate and attempted to control
them.245 There was in short considerable conflict and tension between
the two sides on the question of religious practice.
After the 4th century, in the Southern and the Northern dynasties,
upper and lower strata of society fell under the sway of Buddhism. And
although there were differences in the beliefs of literati and prominent
monks on the one hand and ordinary devotees on the other, as well as
differences in their devotional practices, in the discussions of doctrine,
recitation of scripture, meditation, and the creation of images, they
nonetheless all drew on the Buddhist religion that had come from the
west. All held that their practices could be traced back to scripture
and all identified with Buddhism. This point may not have been rec-
ognized by the majority of devotees, but it had a major impact on the
attitude of the rulers towards Buddhist activities carried out among the
populace. From the perspective of the average devotee, creating images
and making offerings to them was similar to traditional sacrifice and
prayer. From the perspective of traditional Chinese rites, Buddhism
was a foreign teaching not mentioned in the relevant classics, with no
value for the people. It “was not an appropriate form of worship for
the Son of Heaven or China”; serving the Buddha was equivalent to a
participating in an illegitimate form of worship.246 Although Buddhism
was widely practiced throughout society, with images, stupas, and
monasteries being built throughout the empire, it was in fact similar
to non official cults. However, since there was a textual source for
Buddhist devotional activities, and Buddhist rulers and eminent monks
engaged in the same practices, a change took place in the perception
of what it meant to make a Buddhist image. From the category of
“illegitimate cult” Buddhist devotional practice became the “cultivation
of blessings”. Popular Buddhist activities were then protected and not
attacked as illegitimate. During the Southern and Northern dynasties
245
See Terry F. Kleeman, “Licentious cults and bloody victuals: sacrifice, reciprocity
and violence in traditional China,” Asia Major Third Series, 7.1 (1994), 185–211.
246
See Gaoseng zhuan 9, “Biography of Fotudeng” ۵ቹᑢ, p. 352.
1166 hou xudong
the court frequently launched campaigns against illegitimate cults, but

these only rarely concerned popular Buddhism.247 This created an ideal
atmosphere for the rise and expansion of Buddhism. At the same time,
religious tensions between court and countryside lessened. In other
words, to some extent Buddhism contributed to the strengthening of
identification between the upper and lower strata of society and the
formation of social cohesion.
That Buddhism could play this role was in large measure the result
of the formation of common forms of Buddhist devotion. Before the
arrival of Buddhism, religion in China was marked by diversity and
the absence of a common focus of devotion. Sacrifice, for instance, was
characterized by hierarchy and careful distinctions in the recipient of
sacrifice. The Liji states that “The Son of Heaven sacrifices to heaven
and earth, the feudal lords to the spirits of land and grain, and the
great officers offer the five sacrifices. The Son of Heaven sacrifices to
the famous mountains and great rivers of the kingdom . . . while the
feudal lords sacrifice to the famous mountains and great rivers of their
respective regions.”248 Elsewhere it says that “The Son of Heaven sacri-
fices to heaven and earth, the four directions, and the mountains and
rivers, and he makes as well the five sacrifices,” while the feudal lords
“make directional sacrifices, sacrifices to the mountains and rivers, and
the five sacrifices,” the great officers “make the five sacrifices”, and the
scholars “make sacrifices to ancestors”.249 On the subject of sacrificing
to ancestors, the Son of Heaven was to sacrifice in seven temples, the
feudal lords in five, and great officers in three temples, while ordinary
officers sacrificed in one temple and commoners in their principal
room.250 It was also emphasized that “to sacrifice to one to which one
is not supposed to sacrifice is called an ‘illegitimate cult’. Illegitimate
sacrifices yield no blessings.”251
These prescriptions are at times contradictory, but they clearly reveal
the importance of hierarchy. In addition, even when the recipient of
sacrifice was the same, there were usually differences depending on
247
See Miyakawa Hisayuki, “Rikuchō shidai no fuzoku,” in Rikuchō shi kenkyū
shūkyōhen (Kyoto, 1964), pp. 350–60.
248
“Wangzhi,” in Kong Yingda, Liji zhengyi, j. 12, in Ruan Yuan, ed., Shisanjing
zhushu (Beijing, 1980), p. 1336.
249
“Quli B,” in Kong, Liji zhengyi, j. 5, in Ruan Yuan, ed., Shisanjing zhushu,
p. 1268.
250
“Wangzhi,” in Kong, Liji zhengyi, p. 1335.
251
“Quli B,” in Kong, Liji zhengyi, p. 1268.
the sacrificer or the place in which the sacrifice took place. Although
sacrifices to ancestors were common to all levels of society and the
relationship between sacrificer and recipient were the same, there were
differences depending on lineage. Although all could be termed ances-
tors, there were in fact enormous differences between them. At the
court and in the countryside, imperial, commandery, national, district,
county, and village altars (sheʳष) were also common. The “master of the
altar” (shezhuʳष‫ )׌‬in these cases was a local deity that differed from
one region to the next, as did the sacrifice.252 Sacrifices to mountains
and rivers similarly differed from place to place. The mountain deities
sacrificed to—essentially border deities—also differed from one region to
another. Of course, in society there were cults that spread over a fairly
wide area, like the shrines to Prince Jing of Chengyang that was popu-
lar for several centuries in the Qi and Lu area, or the Baojun cult, and
the Shixianshi ‫ف‬ᔃՓ壀 and Lijun ‫ܩޕ‬壀 cults popular for hundreds
of miles around Runan commandery ‫ڿ‬তಷ, as well as the Siming ‫׹‬
ࡎ cult, important in the Qi region and in Runan commandery.253 But
these cults rose and declined and, without a strong proselytizing force,
did not easily expand their influence. Most, moreover, had to contend
with the antipathy of the state.
Following the passage of Buddhism to the east, it entered into society

and gradually underwent major changes. As outlined above, the cults
of Guanyin, Śākyamuni, and Maitreya spread to all regions, north and
south, where they were venerated and worshipped by devotees from
different social backgrounds. Belief in rebirth in the western paradise,
the opportunity to hear a buddha preach directly, to attend the first
of the assemblies at the dragon-flower tree, to avoid rebirth in one of
the three undesirable paths, and even to become a buddha all became
a part of the public consciousness and the fervent goals of devotees
from various social backgrounds. Although we cannot know with any
precision the degree to which these new types of belief replaced tradi-
tional beliefs, at least we can affirm that they added common elements
beyond the differentiated beliefs of traditional devotion, providing to
some degree common foci of devotion, common beliefs, and common
252
Ning Ke, “Shu ‘sheyi’,” originally published in Beijing Shifan xueyuan xuebao
1985.1, collected in Ning Ke shixue lunji (Beijing, 1999), pp. 441, 442.
253
See Ying Shao, Fengsu tongyi 9, “Guai shen,” 8 “Sidian,” in Wang Liqi, ed. (Beijing,
1981), pp. 394–407, 385. See also, in volume one, the chapter by Fu-shih Lin.
1168 hou xudong
goals. The Buddhist activities of different regions and different social

groups were not all the same, but all were inspired by Buddhism. These
shared beliefs provided the potential for connections between people,
contributing to a shared devotional life for society as a whole.

Buddhist Pantheon

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Buddhist Pantheon

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THE BUDDHIST PANTHEON1

The expression “A Maitreya in every home, a Guanyin for every house-

particular type of Buddhist belief, such as the cult to Maitreya,

Changes in the perception of the Buddha

Buddhist devotion slowly developed from the focus on Śākyamuni

follow proceeding one after the other.” Mention of Maitreya, the

leading to the notion that all apparitions (“response bodies”; yingshenʳ

Buddhas and bodhisattvas in the eyes of

The many buddhas and bodhisattvas that appear in Buddhist scriptures

The cult to Śākyamuni, with a brief discussion of Prabūtaratna, the

nirvana more than a thousand years ago, he is no longer present in

is a notable phenomenon in the object of worship among these three

Prabūtaratna (Duobao ‫ڍ‬ᣪ)

Judging by the images, in the north belief in Prabūtaratna was popular

are of Prabūtaratna seated together with Śākyamuni. But most devotees

The Pensive bodhisattva (Siwei ৸൫)

Among the 271 images excavated at Quyang ‫ڴ‬ၺ in Hebei, there

buddhas of the past, stupas containing fingernails or strands of hair

reached an unprecedented level, with the court ordering the erection

corresponding to the Qizhou Ꮨ‫ڠ‬ʳ and Qingzhou ॹ‫ ڠ‬region of the

The Maitreya cult in the south

dedicated to Maitreya, and as far away as Chengdu in Sichuan monks

Prince Wuling of the Liang ඩࣳສ‫׆‬, also once commissioned an

who claimed to be an incarnation of Maitreya,59 the earlier Maitreya cult

The Amitābha cult

reborn in the west in the kingdom of Amitāyus.”77 All of these indicate

of Bodhirucci arriving at the Northern Wei capital at Luoyang and,

The Vairocana cult

and miracle stories about the Flower adornment scripture. Vairocana

In the latter part of the Southern Dynasties, monks in the south

The Guanyin cult

It was precisely these qualities and the practical function of Guanyin

Guanshiyin scripture in stone.115 And when devotees copied scriptures,

continued the practice for decades longer. Overall, commoners and

becoming a standard practice.121 Audiences responded to Sengmin’s

In addition to the relatively influential cults discussed above, during

the devotees themselves, it is important to note that many devotees

to him, made images of both buddhas and made offerings to them.137

related to Kṣitigarbha (Dizang ‫ )៲چ‬appeared relatively late, so that

Conceptions of buddhas and bodhisattvas among

The understanding of the Buddha by the Eastern Jin figure Yuan

preserve evidence not only of his important contributions to Buddhist

He took this as a clear guarantee that devotees after death would be

of the west, demonstrated that he accepted the doctrine that buddhas

express Zhi Dun’s understanding of the doctrine of the emptiness of

Forms of devotion to buddhas and bodhisattvas

During the Six Dynasties period, Buddhism entered every corner of

Many of the Buddhist images discovered in the remains of the Long-

or would keep an image of their own in a monastery.175 Large steles

of flower was used.180 In inscriptions we occasionally see the titles “over-

“made obeisance to the thousand buddhas for more than 30 years,

in general devotees formed devotional societies (yiyi ߳ᆠ) to sponsor

importance to meditation as a means of achieving liberation.192 In

played an important role in the transmission of Buddhism. The Chang-

17 scriptures in 71 fascicles, and ten scriptures in 20 fascicles.215 The

Devotees normally made vows when making offerings to scriptures or

the frequency of monks. However, many devotees of the Six Dynasties

Reciting the name of a buddha or bodhisattva was originally a very

The significance of devotion to buddhas

Buddhism played a positive role in a society of ethnic and class divi-

integration. At that time, diverse ethnic groups that lived together in

the court frequently launched campaigns against illegitimate cults, but

Following the passage of Buddhism to the east, it entered into society

goals. The Buddhist activities of different regions and different social